Partners in Crime
by starfan88
Summary: Sequel to The Blackout. After the snow is cleared and they reenter the real world, can Jude and Tommy’s secret endure the pressures from the outside? Will they make it to the finish line? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Hi all! So here it is...the official sequel to The Blackout, Partners in Crime (that title still cracks me up...I'm a sucker for my own stupid humor). I delayed the posting of the story for a few reasons: 1. I wanted to map out where this story would go before I started and 2. I had this obsession with making it absolutely perfect, which basically came from my own pressure to follow up The Blackout with something you all would like just as much. I got so many amazing reviews and incredible feedback--I felt like I needed to create a follow up that was worthy of all of you who read and appreciated the last story.

So I successfully covered point #1--I outlined most of the story and also wrote the first few chapters. I should be posting Chapter 2 later today after some final editing (assuming you all like Chapter 1!). And as for point #2, I'm not sure if it's perfect, but I'm happy enough with it to post. I'm crossing my fingers that you all are happy with it too!

So without further ado...here it is. This post starts where The Blackout left off, on their first day back. The first few chapters set the stage for the rest of the story, which will include plenty of T/J cuteness (no beer in her hair tho') and a good dose of drama. Oh, and even though Georgia and EJ are gone from this season, they're still in my story since I like them and thought they still fit. Let me know what you think and as always, ENJOY :-)

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Instant Star, but I do own this story :)_

* * *

Jude closed the passenger's side door and waved to Jamie through the glass window. 

"Thanks for the ride!" she yelled as he smiled and waved back. She turned around, took a deep breath, and walked quickly through the front doors of G-Major. She watched Jamie's beat up Civic round the corner through the snow and disappear into the faint gray sky.

Standing in the lobby, she unwrapped her scarf, took off her hat and adjusted her hair. Feeling a combination of anxiety and eagerness, she slowly started walking down the hallway and into the main room of G-Major.

"Jude!" she heard as soon as she entered the room. She spun around to see Georgia standing there.

"Hi, Georgia. I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know," Georgia agreed. "School's done for the day?"

"Thankfully, yes. I seriously didn't miss Geometry during the blizzard," Jude replied.

"How was the blizzard for you? I heard that you hosted a whole crew of people," Georgia said.

"I did. It was…interesting. But luckily, we all made it out of there alive," Jude reported.

"That's good," Georgia said with a laugh. "And I heard you even have a new song."

"I do," Jude said skeptically, thinking of how Georgia had heard.

"Tommy told me," Georgia said, as if reading her mind.

"Ohhh," Jude said, nodding. "Yeah, I finished one song but I have some ideas for a couple of others."

"Good," Georgia said. "As long as they're not all about snow, I'm happy to hear them. Well, better get working," she instructed, shuffling off towards the conference room.

Jude smiled and looked around at the hussle of the main room in G-Major. People were hugging each other, happy to be back, and chatting about their past few days. She waved to EJ in the corner and started to head back towards Studio B.

As she approached the studio, she felt her nerves flutter. Were things going to be strange? Was Tommy going to treat her differently? Would he tell her to just forget everything that had happened now that they were back in the real world? She shuddered and quickly abandoned her last thought. Standing a pace in front of the door, she took a deep breath and relaxed, reminding herself that she had to act normal.

She slowly turned the knob and opened the door. She heard one of her songs, "Heard It All Before," coming from the speakers and saw Kwest and Tommy sitting at the soundboard mixing. They both looked up at her entrance, making her even more nervous.

"Hey," she said with a smile.

"Hi, Jude. How's it going?" Kwest responded.

"Good, thanks," she replied hesitantly, throwing her bag in the corner and unbuttoning her jacket.

Removing her jacket, she looked at Tommy and smiled faintly, "Hi."

"Hi," he said quietly, grinning at her, but then turning back to the sound board.

She grabbed her notebook and pulled a chair up in between them. "Well, it's nice to see that you've both showered and changed. The smell in here is much better than it has been the last few days," she said with a smirk.

"Hey, the same goes for you. Your hair doesn't look quite as oily," Kwest remarked, picking up a strand of her hair.

"And it's less painful seeing you with your makeup on," Tommy added.

Jude gasped and punched his arm, trying to hide her grin.

"Excuse me, but weren't you the one who cried because we didn't have any hair gel?" she asked.

"'Cried' is a little dramatic. I was just a little disappointed," Tommy attempted to explain.

"Disappointed? Tommy, you nearly threw the whole house apart looking for a bottle of Rave."

Kwest snorted at this comment.

"I learned to survive without it," he justified. "Unlike you, who ransacked your kitchen looking for Pop Tarts."

"I have an addiction, Tommy, that is to be taken seriously."

"An addiction—to Pop Tarts?"

"Yes, and thankfully, my mom happened to find more. We always keep a stash in the basement for emergencies."

"And when would there be an emergency need for a Pop Tart?"

"Are you kidding? If I don't get my daily Pop Tart, I wouldn't be half as pleasant as the person you see in front of you," she said with a grin.

"This is pleasant?" he asked before Kwest spun around and looked at the two of them.

"Whoa—cool it, both of you. I usually get at least half an hour of politeness before you two start bickering. I'd say I got about 5 seconds today. What's gotten into you two?"

"Nothing," Jude said with a shrug, standing up and reaching for her guitar. She visibly blushed as she entered the recording booth, which Kwest noticed. He eyed Tommy who was looking down at the soundboard expressionless.

"What?" Tommy asked, seeing Kwest's perplexed face.

"Am I missing something here?" Kwest asked as Jude sat on the stool.

"No. What are you talking about?" Tommy asked, feigning ignorance.

Kwest grinned and turned back to the soundboard. "Oh nothing. Just forget I mentioned it," he said knowingly, making Tommy a little nervous.

Jude worked on "Everything" for the remainder of the day. Things were going smoothly for the most part. She found that she was much more self-conscious about every move she made, everything she said to Tommy and to Kwest, making sure they were at the same even tone.

Jude finished laying down the guitar portion and rejoined the other two as it echoed on playback. They were all spinning around in their chairs listening as their Chinese food arrived for dinner. Kwest went outside to pay the delivery guy and get the food, giving Tommy and Jude their first moment alone.

"Maybe that part should be done with the acoustic," Jude suggested, spinning in her chair.

"I think it's good how it is," Tommy replied, turning behind him to make sure Kwest had gone and leaning over to grab the side of her chair, causing her to stop spinning.

She looked at him in surprise as the chair bolted to a stop and he pulled her closer to him.

"I think we're going to have to rewrite part of the second verse," he declared, grinning, and looking into her eyes.

Confused, she looked down at her lyrics and said, "But I thought you said—"

"Jude," he said, more emphatically, "We have to rewrite the second verse. Tonight. And I don't want to leave until it's perfect."

She grinned at him in understanding. "Okay, well, if you think it could use more work…"

"I do. Definitely."

"Okay then. Who am I to argue?" she agreed, grinning.

He smiled at her flirtatiously and pushed her chair back to the far side of the sound board. She smiled and resumed her spinning.

Kwest re-entered with the food. They ate quietly, trying to wrap up the guitar portion of the song. As it grew later, Tommy told Kwest that they had decided to rewrite part of the second verse. Kwest, who had been yawning, didn't bother questioning his need for perfection and instead, told them both that he was taking off. Jude said her goodnight to him and watch him leave, standing by the door and watching him exit through the lobby of G-Major. Tommy stepped outside, made a quick sweep of the studio to make sure it was empty, and then reentered the studio.

"All clear," he announced, approaching her.. "So…about that verse…"


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews so far! Let me know if you think there's too much mushiness or cuteness--I don't want to make anyone nauseous :) Anyway, I'm hoping you'll be happy with this next chapter too...ENJOY :-)

* * *

"So…about that verse…" Tommy said mischievously, approaching her. 

"Yeah, I think I need some guidance on it," Jude said with a grin as he reached her and wrapped his arms around her back. She slipped her arms around him in return.

"Some guidance? Okay. Well, first, it needs to be a little smoother," he said, leaning down and gently pressing his lips against hers. "And it should have good rhythm," he said, reconnecting his lips to hers more passionately, guiding his tongue into her mouth to sweep against hers as she moved her arms to around his neck. After a few moments, he pulled back a bit and added, "And then it needs a nice, mellow ending," affectionately giving her small pecks and then a quick one on her nose. "And that is how you create a good second verse."

"Ohhh, I get it now. Thanks for your help," she said with a wide grin, standing up on her toes to delicately bring her lips back to his.

He smiled at her and brought his hands to her face, stroking her cheeks. They both sighed and gazed at each other, forgetting their surroundings.

"Did you really not like the second verse?" she asked curiously.

He smiled at her. "No, I loved it. It was perfect."

"Good," she said. "I'm going to be all paranoid now about why we're staying late."

"Talk about paranoid…Kwest…," he started, appearing slightly anxious.

"I know. He knows something's up," she agreed.

"I think he just knows us both too well," Tommy guessed.

She nodded and stepped out of the embrace, intertwining her fingers with his and leading him over to the couch to sit. "So, what do we do?" she asked.

"What can we do? He doesn't actually _know _anything, even though he probably thinks he does. And if we try to cover it up more, he's just going to get more suspicious."

"That's true," she said, nodding, letting go of her anxiety at Kwest's suspicions. He tugged on her arm and brought her closer to him. She shifted over and got closer, snuggling against him. He gave her a light kiss on her head.

"So this isn't so bad," she thought aloud. "Of course, I'm sacrificing my sleep and homework for you, but I suppose those weren't very important anyway."

"Who needs sleep?" he asked with a smirk. "And I'll help you with your homework."

"Uh, thanks, but didn't you drop out of school when you were like 15?"

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I can't write a paper or something."

"Oh really? Okay, then, you can either write my paper on _Canterbury Tales_ or metabolic reactions. Your pick."

He looked down at her hesitantly. "Okay, point taken. It's all you."

"Great, thanks," she said sarcastically. "I'll be chained to my desk all weekend if you need me."

"So no spare time to hang out?" he asked with disappointment.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Well, maybe…I might be able to squeeze you in…"

"Okay. Let's not worry about it now. We should just relax while we can," he suggested.

She resumed her position leaning against him and sighed contentedly.

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, they decided to call it a night. They sleepily dragged themselves off the couch and grabbed their belongings, before making their way to the Viper. They sped out of the G-Major parking lot as Jude relaxed in her seat, thinking of excuses to give her Mom in case she was still awake.

As they pulled into her driveway, she undid her seat belt and looked at him.

"Guess this rushing home thing is all part of the fun, huh?"

He smiled warmly at her. "Guess so."

She leaned over and gave him a light kiss, pulled back slightly to look into his eyes. "It's worth it."

He grinned back at her in agreement. She sat still for a moment and then grabbed her bag and opened the door. As she stepped outside, she turned back to him.

"See you tomorrow?"

"You got it," he replied.

She flashed one more smile at him and then turned to run into the house. He waited for her to get in and then reversed out of her driveway and took off down the street.

The week went by quickly. Kwest repeatedly shot them suspicious glances, but otherwise, nothing was mentioned about their change in behavior. They finished "Everything" and Georgia gave her approval on Friday afternoon. Between school and staying late at the studio every night with Tommy, Jude was exhausted. She felt like she could sleep for days, but knew that she had a packed weekend ahead. Yvette was having a dinner to welcome her Dad home from the hospital. And she hadn't started either of her papers and or her math homework. Plus, she wanted to spend time with Tommy. She figured her best bet would be Saturday night after the dinner for her Dad. Then she could work all day on Sunday.

She awoke early on Saturday to go shopping with Sadie, who was getting a head start on decorating her college dorm room, a place that didn't actually exist for another few months when she planned on leaving. After searching unsuccessfully for the perfect comforter, they came home to get ready for dinner. She shoved a couple of items into her bag that she would take over to Tommy's later, seeing as the chances of her actually coming home were slim to none. She ran down the stairs and yelled out to her mom that she would be staying over Kat's that night. Not waiting to hear the response, she opened the door and ran out to join Sadie in her car.

Dinner with her father went well. Yvette had cooked a broccoli soufflé that made her father rave at every bite. Jude sat next to her father and talked to him for awhile, catching up on the album and her week. He felt much better and fortunately looked more like himself.

After dinner, Sadie was going to meet up with a friend and offered to give Jude a ride home.

"Actually, I was kind of hoping you could drop me off somewhere else," Jude said timidly.

"Okay. Kat's?"

"Nope, keep guessing."

"Umm…Jamie's? Or are you going out somewhere?"

"Nope."

"Okay, Jude, I give up. Tell me where you're going or else you're not getting there."

"Well…I'll give you a hint. You've been there before but I haven't. And I'm pretty sure if I snoop around, I'll find a white suit and bandana."

Sadie's jaw dropped at her sister's request. "Jude Elizabeth Harrison. I knew there was something going on."

"Relax, Sadie. We're just hanging out."

"Does Mom know?"

"Not exactly…but it's for her own good. I don't want to give her a heart attack for no reason."

Sadie sighed and thought for a moment. "Fine, keep your whole denial routine going. But if either Mom or the paparazzi finds out, I officially had nothing to do with this."

They got back into Sadie's car without mentioning their destination again. As they approached the building that Sadie knew very well, she pulled up the main entranceway and Jude started to get out of the car.

"16th floor, 4th door on your right," Sadie instructed quietly.

Jude looked at her sister and smiled. "Thanks. Have a good night, Sadie."

"You too. Just not _too_ good of a night."

"Very funny," Jude said, closing the door.

She grinned and felt her stomach churn as she walked through the lobby of the building and into the elevator, pressing the number 16.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi again. Thank you so much for the reviews so far! I'm really happy that people seem to be pleased with the story so far...here's the third installment, which I wanted to post relatively quickly as this is the last chapter that's more of an overview. The actual story and drama start in the next post, so there's something to look forward to!

This chapter isn't entirely necessary, but I wanted to throw in a section with Tommy's apartment. Don't you wonder what it looks like? This chapter is devoted to that question--you'll see how I envision it. I'm hoping at some point this season, we'll actually see it (preferably with Jude, not Sadie) but until then, here's my idea of what it looks like. I'm curious to hear what you think, so let me know! Thanks again, and hope you ENJOY!

* * *

Jude stepped out of the elevator and approached the 4th door on the right, apartment 16D. She fluffed her hair and fixed her bangs before knocking on the door. She heard the sound of muffled music coming from inside and some movement before the unlocking of the door. The door swung open and a grinning Tommy appeared before her. 

"Well, it's about time," he said.

"I would've been here sooner but my dad made me perform all of the songs from Abbey Road with him after dinner."

Tommy chuckled lightly. "Sorry I missed it. Can I get an encore performance?"

"Not unless you're planning on coming home from the hospital."

He laughed and opened the door wider. "Do you want to come in or just stand out there?"

She grinned and walked through the doorway, past him as he shut the door behind her. She stood there silently scanning the room. Her eyes went to the brown leather sofas, dark red rug, the entertainment system, the plaques and framed photos on the far wall. She liked the living room immediately—it had a warm, cozy feel.

"Do you like it?" she heard from behind her.

"Definitely," she said, turning around to face him. "It's you."

"Is it what you expected?"

"Pretty much. Just without the leopard print," she said with a smile.

"Oh well, you haven't seen the bedroom yet," he said mimicking her smile. She laughed a little as he leaned in and brought his lips to hers. She met his lips with eagerness, dropping her bag aimlessly and bringing her hands up and around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her in to him, releasing all of his anticipation in his kiss. After what felt like hours, they parted lips and looked into each others' eyes.

She smiled up at him. "So, can I get the ten-cent tour?"

"Sure," he agreed, stepping back and grabbing her hand. "Obviously, this is the living room."

He dragged her over to the center of the room so she could see it all. She noted the large TV with full sound system and speakers along with rows and rows of CD's. She looked closer at the pictures and plaques hung on the wall, pulling him over towards them. She saw the framed platinum records in the corner from Boyz Attack along with some awards the band had won. There were photos of him with some of her biggest idols—Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Keith Richards.

"You know all of these people?" she said with excitement, pointing to the pictures.

"Not really, I've met them all. At award shows or parties or concerts. They had no idea who I was, but they were all cool with posing for a picture."

She nodded and kept walking, seeing some production awards. There was a photo of him with Shay and another with a band he used to produce, Open Minds. Finally, her eyes met the center photo, one of him and her. She smiled widely looking at it—it was taken the night that her first album officially went platinum. The studio had held a small party where they made the announcement and gave her a framed platinum record. She remembered asking him to join her for pictures, since it was just as much his as it was hers. In the picture, they were both mid-laugh holding the record, although she couldn't remember what had made them laugh. They both just looked so happy, it made her beam standing there remembering.

He saw her smiling and couldn't help but smile himself. "That one is my favorite."

She turned towards him and replied, "I love that shot, it's really great."

He squeezed her hand and lead her towards his favorite part of the apartment—the balcony that overlooked the city. They didn't venture outside because of the cold but stood at the glass doors looking at the lights twinkling in the distance. Once she was satisfied with the view, he continued the tour, pointing out the small kitchen and alcove with a dining room table.

He took her further back down a hallway. There was a bathroom on one side and a guest room on the other. Then at the end of the hallway was his room, a large open room with an adjacent bathroom, including a khaki colored bed and black furniture. She noted the black and white photos of city scenes on one of the walls, along with more photos and concert memorabilia scattered throughout. She surveyed the complex stereo system and TV, noticing even more CD's encased in racks next to the dresser.

She turned to him and smiled. "It's not quite as bachelor pad as I would've expected."

"Is that a good thing?" he asked.

"Yeah, definitely. Part of me thought I was going to walk into the love shack."

He laughed at this and looked around. "Well, you should've seen my first place when I was with the Boyz. It had velvet couches and a disco ball."

She laughed too, imagining his previous apartment. She quieted down and looked around at the room. "I love it. All of it. It's really great."

"Good," he said, pulling her into him. "Because I want you to feel comfortable and spend time here. It's your getaway just as much as it is mine."

"Really?" she asked as he nodded. "I'd like that."

"Me too," he said, softly kissing her. "It can be like our home base. Neutral territory."

"Like Switzerland?" she asked.

He snickered and nodded. "Sure, like Switzerland."

They spent the night talking. There was a movie on that neither paid attention to—they were happy just being together without having to worry about anyone else. They talked about the last year and Sadie and Jamie and all of their awkward moments when they were still in denial. It was the only time during her whole week that Jude truly felt relaxed and content.

As the clock struck 1am, they both grew tired. Jude wasn't sure exactly how to handle the whole sleeping situation. She knew that they were going to try to wait before actually being together, but she didn't know what that meant in terms of sleeping arrangements.

He turned off the light in the living room and met her at the entrance to the hallway.

"So…I'm assuming this is my sleeping quarters?" she asked nervously, gesturing towards the guest room.

He looked confused. "Do you want it to be?"

She didn't know how to respond. Naturally, she didn't want to sleep separately but she wasn't sure what the right answer was. "Well…"

"You don't have to answer that, sorry," he said, looking flustered. "The guest room is totally fine if that's what you want."

"Do I have another option?" she asked timidly.

He grinned at her. "Of course, but your other option would involve some company."

"And you would be okay with that? You know, considering the whole waiting thing."

He looked at her intently. "Jude, I love being with you, even if we're not doing anything. Besides, there are other things we can do to be close."

She grinned and thought for a moment. "I suppose that's true…"

"Five months is a long time. I can't go without any physical contact. That would just be cruel."

She sniggered and nodded. "Okay, lead the way."

"You're sure? You can stay in the guest room, I don't—"

She cut him off by grabbing his arm. "I didn't want to sleep in the guest room in the first place. I just wasn't sure what you wanted."

"Sneaky, Harrison," he said, grasping her hand and leading her down the hallway into his bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi, all--just a quick note or two before we get into the next update, which is really where the story begins.

Our story jumps ahead to be a month later. I hope it's not confusing but it's just to keep things moving along. Also, as I said, the story begins here and the plot involves an award ceremony. It's funny because I recently read a spoiler that said that Jude will be nominated for an award this season (don't quote me on that, in case it's not true!), but this idea came to me back in January. I was going to write it as a one-shot, but once The Blackout was done, I figured I could incorporate it into the sequel.

Importantly, in Canada, the comparable music award ceremony to the Grammy's is called the Juno's, which is used here. I figured she wouldn't really be nominated in the States, so I tried to make it as realistic as possible.

Thanks for all of your feedback, you guys are the best! I'm going to try to get the next chapter out tomorrow so keep your eyes open for it...hope you ENJOY!

* * *

The next few weeks flew by as the combination of homework, songwriting, and sneaking around with Tommy was keeping Jude busy enough to blur the week together. The only days she knew were the weekends, when she tried to always find a few hours to spend at Tommy's apartment. She couldn't keep telling her mom that she was staying at Kat's, so she got creative with her excuses – working late at the studio over the weekend, pulling all-nighters with Jamie, or even visiting her father, which was one excuse she only used once because Tommy convinced her it was too risky. All of the excuses seemed to go unquestioned by her mom, who was luckily spending more time with Steven. Sadie, on the other hand, caught on to each of her lies but fortunately kept her mouth shut around her mom. And she even volunteered occasionally to drive her sister to her secret destination, which Jude was always incredibly thankful for. 

Jude and Tommy were still paranoid in the studio but it seemed to be working. No one had caught them late at night and they managed to restrain themselves during the day. Kwest kept making sly comments about how Tommy was staring at her or how they were smiling at each other, but they both continued to deny his accusations. After about a month, they felt better about the situation. They had managed to get through 1/5 of their secret relationship and felt more confident at getting through the rest.

Right before 9:00 as the sound of the horn was blaring through the house, Jude ran outside with her jacket half on and bag in one hand. She approached the Viper and got in, throwing her bag by her feet and closing the door.

"Sorry I'm so late, my alarm didn't go off," she explained, pulling her coat on all the way.

He frowned at her. "I thought we agreed no lying between us."

She smiled and looked down. "Right, sorry. You got me. I overslept as usual."

"Thank you," he said with a grin and pulled out of her driveway, speeding ahead towards the studio. "It's a good thing you're on break from school or else you really would've been late."

"True," she agreed. "My excuses work much better on Georgia than on my homeroom teacher."

As they approached the stop sign at the end of the street, they performed their daily ritual and leaned in towards each other. They lightly pressed their lips together and parted with grins.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"Morning," he exchanged with a smile.

"So," she said, sitting back against the seat, "do you know anything about this meeting?"

"Nope, nothing," he said, pulling the car further down the street and towards the highway. "Georgia called me around 7 this morning and told me to get you and be at the studio by 9, which we're apparently not going to make."

"I'll think of an excuse, don't worry," she stated.

"I have no doubt," he said with a smirk.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of G-Major and got out. They jogged quickly into the studio and made it through the lobby towards the conference room. They hesitantly opened the door, hearing Georgia's voice echoing through the room. They silently walked in and took seats next to each other at the back.

"Well, how nice of you both to join us. Especially since this meeting is for you," Georgia announced, at which point everyone turned to look at them.

"What?" Tommy asked, nervous by Georgia's statement that the meeting involved them.

"We have important news you'll both want to hear. We got a call this morning from the Juno Awards. It seems that Jude's been nominated for two awards this year."

Jude's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Best Female Performer and Best New Artist," she read from her notebook.

Jude shrieked with excitement and immediately turned to Tommy with a hug. He too was excited, smiling widely and hugging her back. He felt Georgia's eyes on them so he quickly pulled away.

"The ceremony is in two weeks, which doesn't give us much time to prepare. But we've divided and conquered the publicity and marketing tasks," Georgia informed them.

EJ stood up, looking equally as thrilled as Jude, and exclaimed, "Congratulations!"

Jude blushed as the rest of the room turned to congratulate her as well. "Thanks, guys. I could never have done any of this without you all."

"Save the acceptance speech for the ceremony," Georgia said as everyone stood to leave the room.

On her way out, EJ approached Jude, with Tommy still sitting next to her. "Jude, we need to talk about that night. I don't want you appearing alone again at another high profile event."

Jude looked confused. "What are you talking about, EJ? I took Jamie to Shay's album launch party two months ago."

"No, Jude, Jamie was a friend. I'm talking about setting you up with someone. Like on a date."

"A date for the awards ceremony? I thought I was allowed to take my parents or something."

"You are, but I'd like to add someone else to the list. I'm thinking an actor or maybe another musician."

Tommy sat silently grinding his teeth, pretending to read some papers Georgia had distributed on her way out.

"EJ, thanks for your concern about my dating status but I honestly don't think that's necessary. I'm not going to want to worry about some random guy when all I'll be thinking about are the awards. It's going to be stressful enough, don't you think?" Jude asked pleadingly.

"Please, Jude. Whoever it will be won't get in your way. We'll have him join you just for the after-parties. That way, the press can get some shots of the two of you dancing."

Jude sighed and tried one last time. "EJ, please, I really don't want to do this. It's just not me. I'm not good at set-ups."

EJ laughed and walked towards the door. "Oh Jude, relax. It's going to be great, I promise." At that, she opened the door to the conference room and left Jude and Tommy alone.

Jude sighed loudly and fell back into her chair. "Well, I tried."

"You could've just said no," he replied sharply.

She looked at him. "Are you kidding? I practically threw myself on the floor begging her not to do it. Did it really look like she was willing to give in?"

He abruptly stood up and looked at her. "I'm just saying, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

She stood up to meet his gaze, her anger rising. "Tommy, don't you think it'll look a wee bit suspicious if I tell them I refuse to do this but I can't give them a good reason why? Would you like to explain to her why I shouldn't be set up?" He just stood there with his arms crossed and rolled his eyes. She saw his reaction and added, "The single Jude would've gone, she would've done it, I can't act like that's not me."

He shifted, still crossing his arms with frustration. "I just don't think you need to give in because they're putting pressure on you. The Jude I know wouldn't do something she doesn't want to, regardless of single or not."

She shook her head. "No, Tommy, you don't get it. This _is _something I would do. It's not something I would fight. I'd even be excited about it, if I actually were single, which right now, I'm seriously rethinking," she said crossly and took off, walking straight out of the room and slamming the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi--I tried to post this last night but I guess the site wasn't working, so it didn't make it up. Thanks to everybody who emailed me to let me know! Hopefully, second try will be the charm, but let me know if you're still having issues (although you probably won't be reading this if you can't access it...oh well). Here are the comments from yesterday along with the next post:

Thanks everybody for your feedback! I love reading all of your reactions to their little tiff...stick with me here, it'll all be okay...:-) Another love of mine: the episode this week--how cute are Jude and Tommy? When she jumped on his back...so cute! Sorry, just had to get that out of my system. Now, on with the next chapter...ENJOY!

* * *

Jude arrived at Studio B in a huff and threw her stuff into the corner. She collapsed loudly into the chair next to Kwest. 

"Well, good morning to you too," Kwest said, watching her.

"Morning," she muttered.

"I would've thought you'd be more cheery considering the whole nomination thing. Congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks," she murmured. "I am happy, it's not that."

"Let me guess, a certain someone has you all wound up?"

She grunted and started spinning in her chair. "He can just be…so unreasonable sometimes, you know?"

"Oh, I know," Kwest agreed.

"He should be happy for me, right? But no, he'd rather be negative and not listen to me."

Kwest looked at her, bewildered. "What exactly are we talking about here?"

She looked back at him and sighed. "Nothing, it was nothing. Just him being stubborn."

"Okay," Kwest said, still confused. "Don't take this the wrong way Jude, but he's not the only stubborn person I know."

She grinned at him hesitantly. "Okay, I suppose I can be a little stubborn myself."

"I'm not saying he's not wrong. But I know that he gets a little…more stubborn than usual when you're involved."

Jude nodded in understanding. "I just wish it didn't always lead to him saying something stupid."

Kwest chuckled. "Jude, for as long as I've known him, I can't imagine there will ever be a day when he doesn't say something stupid."

Jude laughed with him, feeling better. She pulled out her notebook to begin working as the door opened and Tommy appeared. He held a mug of coffee and silently walked to third chair. They all sat speechless, waiting for someone to say something.

Kwest looked at the two of them. "Now _this_ is back to normal."

"What do you mean?" Jude asked.

"You two—fighting. You bicker constantly but we haven't had a good fight in what—a month now? We're way overdue."

"Kwest…" Tommy started, trying to stop him.

"Now I don't know what's going on but whatever it is, Jude's unhappy because she thinks you're being stubborn," Kwest said to Tommy. Jude swiftly hit Kwest's arm as Tommy sat there in silence, staring at his coffee.

"So, T, just say you're sorry so we can move on," Kwest prodded.

"Why doesn't she have to say she's sorry?" Tommy asked.

"Because _I _didn't do anything wrong," Jude stated.

"Says who?" Tommy asked.

"Hey, simmer down." Kwest ordered. "Jude, go to Studio C to write. You two need a breather."

Jude stood up abruptly. "Fine, but I'm not apologizing." She grabbed her guitar and notebook and left the studio.

Tommy rolled his eyes and turned to the soundboard.

"What's with you two? It's like we have our own soap opera in here," Kwest said.

"She's just…difficult."

"So? Last time I checked, so are you," Kwest pointed out.

"Thanks. I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine. But listen, whatever happened, is it worth all of this? You have to learn to pick your battles, T. Not every one is worth a fight."

Tommy considered this statement as he mixed one of Jude's tracks. He hated the idea that she'd be going out with another guy, but was it worth fighting over? He trusted her, he just didn't want to witness it. And he felt like she hadn't fought back enough. But maybe she was just trying to protect them…

After an hour of mixing and thinking, Tommy took off his headphones and stood up. He silently opened the door and exited the studio, heading towards Studio C. Kwest watched him and shook his head with a smile, knowing his destination.

He made his way to Studio C, hearing guitar chords as he approached. He quietly opened the door and peered in. Jude was sitting on the ground against one of the walls with her guitar on her lap and her notebook at her side. She was writing something in her notebook as she felt someone else's presence in the room.

"Hey," Tommy said.

"Hey," she said distantly, not looking up at him.

He entered and closed the door behind him, making sure no one was around. He walked over and sat down next to her. She continued making notes, ignoring him.

"Jude," he said, putting his hand over hers stopping her from writing. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. "I didn't mean to make a big deal out of it. I don't want you to go out with some other guy, but I know you did what you thought was best."

She sat still, looking at him, as he continued. "I guess if you had told EJ you wouldn't do it, she wouldn't have just accepted your answer. And you're probably right that if it was something you would've done two months ago, you should do it now. But please don't do it just to make EJ happy."

"I'm not," she promptly replied. "I'm doing it to make us happy. So we don't need to explain anything or give anybody reason to question us."

He grabbed her hand and played with her fingers. "I just don't like the idea of seeing you with somebody else."

"Tommy, do you think I want to go out with somebody else? It makes me nauseous just thinking about it."

He nodded in understanding and gripped her hand a little tighter. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry too," she admitted. "_I'm_ the one who made it into a bigger deal than it needed to be. I shouldn't have freaked out. I don't make any sense when I'm yelling at you."

He smiled and looked at her warmly. "Want to get lunch? We could go to that pizza place you love."

"Okay," she agreed with a smile.

They came back from lunch about an hour later. They had spent about 40-45 minutes eating and a good 15-20 minutes kissing and making out in his car. The combination of the pizza and lip locking left them both feeling in high spirits as they reentered the studio. Kwest immediately noticed the change in their demeanor.

"So I take it there's peace again?" he asked as they took off their coats.

"Yup," Tommy said. "We're good."

"Too bad. I like the drama that comes when you two fight."

"But we get less work done when we're fighting," Jude remarked, sitting down next to Kwest.

"True," Kwest admitted, and then looked at Jude closely. He smirked as he caught sight of her sweater buttons in the wrong holes. "Um, Jude, shouldn't the buttons line up with the holes?"

She looked down and saw her mismatched buttons. She blushed a deep crimson and redid them. "Yeah, I uh, was running late this morning."

Kwest grinned and looked at Tommy. "Funny, I swear the buttons were fine before…" he said.

Tommy shrugged nervously as the door swung open and EJ appeared.

"Jude, I got it. I got the perfect date."

"What?" Jude said, still shaken by Kwest's comment. "EJ, I told you I don't need a—"

"Josh Sanders."

Jude's eyes widened at the name. "Josh Sanders? As in, the actor? As in, the younger version of Brad Pitt?"

"Yup, he's your date. It's all set. He's going to pick you up before the red carpet and then meet you later at the party."

"That's great!" she exclaimed, then calmed down, not wanting to upset Tommy. "I mean, I still really don't need a date, but he's not a bad choice. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll set you up with hair, makeup, and dress. We'll talk later," EJ said, leaving.

Jude cleared her throat and said quietly, "So, should we keep writing, Quincy?"

He looked uneasy but then sighed and stood up. "Yup, let's go, girl."


	6. Chapter 6

Hi, I'm back. I apologize for the delay on this post--my life went haywire this week and I didn't have a chance to edit this next part. On top of that, I ran into my first case of a mental block on this story. I had it all planned out and then suddenly, I realized that I want to change where I was heading, so I've been trying to come up with some new ideas.

For now, I'm happy with the next few chapters and hopefully you all will be too! This one is a bit of a filler but it leads into the night of the Juno's, where there's plenty of drama. I should be posting the next part tomorrow, as there's a small cliffhanger at the end of this part...I know how you all love cliffhangers :-) Thanks again for all of your amazing feedback--you guys have no idea how much motivation you give me and lately, I've really needed it! So onto our next part...ENJOY!

* * *

The next couple of weeks flew by until it was the day before the Juno's. Jude was in full preparation mode, working on her album, selecting a dress with EJ, and giving numerous interviews about how thrilled she was about the nominations. 

She and Tommy had come to terms with the fact that she was about to be shown dating someone else. They discussed possible scenarios and how she would handle both Josh and the press. She had no doubt that her heart was with Tommy, but she was also excited at the opportunity to meet this famous, gorgeous actor—let alone be seen on a date with him. Tommy was trying to be supportive of the situation but she knew it wasn't easy for him.

Jude headed out of the conference room at G-Major where yet another reporter had asked her for her reaction to the nomination and what her plans were for the big night. She sighed and walked straight towards the kitchen, needing to refuel with caffeine.

"Jude!" she heard as she poured the coffee into her mug.

"What is it now EJ?" she said, annoyed at the constant disturbance EJ was now playing.

"Snippy, aren't we? I just wanted to see which purse you liked more – the solid clutch or the beaded one?" EJ asked, holding up two very similar bags.

"Umm, I don't know, they both look okay…" Jude said indifferently, sipping the coffee. She spotted Tommy across the room enter his office and saw her opportunity to bolt. "Listen, I trust your opinion, EJ, you pick. I need to go work on my new song."

"But I haven't shown you the nail color options yet! Jude!" EJ yelled after her. Jude took off, not listening, and headed straight towards Tommy.

"Hey," she said, reaching the doorway to his office.

"Hey," he said, looking up from a couple of papers on his desk.

"Mind if I hide out here for a few minutes? EJ has been pestering me all day with fashion questions. I'm about to lose it with her."

He smiled. "Sure. Do you want to keep working on your song?"

"Maybe in a little bit," she said, collapsing on the couch. "I need sleep."

"You'll get sleep. After you get your awards," he said, stepping out to lean against his desk.

"You mean after _we_ get _our_ awards?" she clarified, turning on her side to face him.

"They're your awards, Jude."

"They're not anyone's yet, but if there are awards, they're both of ours," she stated firmly.

He shook his head in disagreement but didn't bother arguing. He walked over to the sofa and crouched down next to her. He gently ran his hand through her hair as she closed her eyes. "You'll get one," he assured her softly. "And if not, then they have no taste in music."

"Thanks," she said quietly with a smile. She opened her eyes and looked into his. "Maybe Josh will get sick," she said dreamily.

"Get sick for his date with the Jude Harrison? Never. I'm sure you're the highlight of his year."

"Me? Tommy, do you know who he's been seen with?"

"I see those tabloid headlines, but none of them can compete with you."

She smiled faintly and gave a quiet, "Thanks."

"We should probably get back out there," he said gently, glancing towards the open door. She nodded and sat up.

"Okay, ready to write?" she asked as he stood up and helped her up.

"Sure," he agreed as they walked out and into Studio B.

Finally, after more working and determining fashion details, and even squeezing in a good four hours of sleep, it was the day of the Juno's. Jude woke up so excited she could barely speak. EJ had plans to come over with the stylist in the early afternoon to get ready, so Jude spent the morning relaxing with her mom. Jude's parents along with their significant others were invited but her dad was out of town on business. So she used her dad's ticket for Sadie, who was ecstatic.

Finally, the doorbell rang and the frenzy began. EJ arrived with Hilary, her stylist, and two assistants for makeup and hair. Jude loved the dress she and EJ had picked out—because they had Hilary, she was presented with 3 dresses that all fit perfectly and she got to choose one that she preferred. They worked on her hair and makeup, deciding to go with a more natural look.

At 5:00, Georgia, Darius, Kwest and Tommy all arrived at the Harrison house to go to the awards. Three limos arrived out front, right on time, to take them to the Toronto concert hall, where the ceremony would be held. They all waited patiently downstairs as Jude slipped on one of her shoes.

"Jude, I'm tossing your lip gloss in your bag. Do you need your house keys or can I leave them here?" EJ asked, holding the brown clutch that they had selected.

"Ummm..throw them in. You never know what's going to happen," Jude said with a smile.

"I love your thinking!" EJ exclaimed, handing Jude her bag and walking towards the door. "See you downstairs?"

"Yup, I'll be there," Jude said. As EJ left, she stood alone in her room and looked at herself in the mirror. She was actually happy with her reflection—she had to admit, Hilary was a fashion genius. There was a knock on the door as she turned around.

"Hi Sadie, come in," she said, seeing her sister peek through the doorway.

"Wow, Jude…" Sadie said, looking at her sister before her. "You really look incredible."

"Thanks," she said humbly. Jude looked at Sadie's long turquoise sheath. "You look amazing too."

"Thanks," Sadie replied, doing a quick twirl. Her dress was long and straight made of a light jersey fabric with a braided halter neck. It fit her perfectly and made her blue eyes look brighter. "I'm just trying to look semi-acceptable next to my famous sister and her famous boy toy for the evening."

"Very funny," Jude said, putting her earrings in her ears.

"Are you nervous?" Sadie asked.

"A little. More excited than nervous. I'm trying to not take it too seriously."

"That's good," Sadie replied positively. Just then, there was another knock on the door and they heard a voice.

"Umm…Jude? Can I come in?"

It was Tommy. Jude quickly fastened her other earring and looked to Sadie for guidance.

Sadie walked over to the door and stuck her head out. "Aren't you supposed to wait for her grand entrance downstairs?"

"I was hoping I could see her beforehand," Tommy explained. "Besides, I'm supposed to tell you that Josh is here."

"He's here!" Sadie exclaimed, turning back to Jude. Jude cheered too, but quickly quieted down, remembering Tommy standing right outside the door. Sadie turned back to him. "I'll go meet him. You have two minutes with her, that's it," she instructed, exiting the room. "And don't mess up her makeup," she whispered, heading into the hall and down the steps.

He smiled and lightly pushed the door open, feeling his pulse race in anticipation. He took a step into her room, not looking up while shutting the door, and then noticed her out of the corner of his eye. She was standing near her desk, putting some mints into her bag, and looked up as he entered. She stood up straight and smiled at him as he took in her full appearance.

"Wow…" he muttered, gaping at her across the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi--thanks for all of your feedback! You guys have helped me start to formulate some new ideas...hopefully, the next post will be within the next couple of days. I just have to make sure everything is perfect for all of you :)BTW, the inspiration for her dress came from Natalie Portman's dress at the Golden Globes, with some slight differences. Hope you like it--let me know what you think. ENJOY!

* * *

"Wow…" Tommy muttered, gaping at her across the room. 

"You like it?" Jude replied, doing a quick spin. He stood speechless, jaw dropped at her appearance.

She had selected a coffee-brown strapless dress. It was very simple but very flattering. It was tea-length, falling to around her shins, and was made of silk with matching brown tulle lining that peeked out as a thin layer at the top and bottom. The top was fitted against her chest with a straight neckline that was slightly lower in the back.The skirt portion was full and fluffy, with more layers of tulle underneath the silk to fill it out. Her favorite part of the dress was a little bling – a wide ribbon belt with a diamond and ruby encrusted buckle. It made the dress stand out but not be too over the top. She wore matching brown heels that made her feel at least 4 inches taller and simple dangling copper earrings.

Her makeup and hair were both natural, showing off large, bouncy curls that were half pinned up. She felt glamorous but modest, like she had found the perfect balance in one dress. She looked mature, sophisticated, but more than anything, glowed with happiness.

"You…umm…you look…," he stuttered, unable to think coherently.

She stood there grinning, awaiting a full sentence. He shook his head to get back to reality and stared at her once more.

"You look beautiful," he said softly.

She blushed and quietly responded, "Thank you."

He took a few steps towards her, resisting the urge to grab her and kiss her. "You really do. It's still you, just a little fancier," he remarked, taking her hand.

She grinned widely. "That's exactly why I liked the dress. I wanted to look nice but not too done up."

He nodded. "Well, you did it. It's perfect."

"Thanks," she said quietly, squeezing his hand. She looked at him, wearing a classy two-button suit and black silk tie. "You don't look too shabby yourself."

He smiled. "Thanks. I was listed as one of the worst dressed musicians a few years ago, so I'm still trying to make up for it."

She laughed lightly as they gazed at each other for a few moments. He hesitantly broke the silence.

"Sadie told me not to ruin your makeup but I…I really want to kiss you right now."

She grinned faintly and stepped closer to him. "I have more lip gloss in my bag."

He grinned too and looked into her sparkling eyes. He leaned in slowly as she met his lips halfway. Their lips connected, both feeling a surge of emotion, as his hands grasped her waist to pull her in closer. The kiss grew deeper as their tongues intertwined and she touched her fingers to his face, feeling his freshly shaven skin. She absorbed his cologne, a musky, woodsy scent, and felt calmed by the familiar fragrance. He too breathed in the smell of vanilla she was wearing, along with a hint of lavender from her hair. He held onto her tightly, not wanting to let her go, not wanting to send her off to someone else's arms. His passion was not lost on her; she met his level of intensity, wanting to make certain he knew where her heart was.

After a minute, she hesitantly pulled back a bit, kissing him lightly and trying to catch her breath. He too was breathing rapidly, trying to regain control, and rested his head against hers.

"You're taller," he commented quietly.

She laughed a little and said, "The power of heels."

He smiled and pulled back, looking at her warmly. "We should probably get going. You don't want to keep your date waiting."

She grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes. "I know this isn't easy, but it'll be over before you know it."

He nodded and looked down nervously. "I know, we have to do this," he muttered, almost to remind himself.

She saw his hesitation and squeezed his hands. "I love you," she said softly, firmly.

He looked back up, into her eyes, and grinned. "I love you too."

She smiled at him and sighed. "Let's go. Before Sadie comes back and threatens to hurt you for ruining my lip gloss."

He quickly wiped his lips, making sure there was no trace of her gloss, as she grabbed her purse and hastily reapplied some to her lips. They held hands and slowly walked out of her room.

He came down the steps first as she followed a few paces behind. When she reached the bottom, there were gasps and cheers from her family and friends who were awaiting her entrance. She did a spin to show off her dress and then walked around, greeting everyone. As she hugged Georgia, her eyes went to the famous face at the back of the crowd. She felt her breath leave her as Josh Sanders smiled and EJ ushered him up to her for introductions.

He looked better in person than in the tabloids. He was tall and handsome, with light brown spiked hair and deep hazel eyes. His muscular build was enhanced by his charcoal gray designer suit and dark red tie, bringing out the rubies in her belt.

"Jude, I'd like you to meet Josh Sanders. Josh, this is Jude. Your date for this evening."

"Hi," he said, extending his hand to shake hers. "I'm a huge fan."

"Really?" she asked breathlessly. "Wow, thanks. I'm a huge fan of yours too."

"Thanks," he said humbly.

She smiled timidly, disbelieving she was actually meeting him.

Sadie coughed loudly to break the moment. "Umm, guys, shouldn't we get going? The ceremony starts in 45 minutes."

"Yes! We have to go," EJ exclaimed, eagerly pushing everyone outside and into the limos. Jude and Josh made their way out with the group, EJ shoving them into the first limo in line. Jude hesitantly looked back at Tommy, as he was getting into another limo with Georgia, Kwest, and Darius, and met his gaze. She grinned at him as she got in her limo to join Josh.

They talked the whole way, getting all of the basic information on each other. He was 19 and lived in his own place downtown. He had two brothers and a dog, a golden retriever named Sparky. He had been acting since age 6 and was currently shooting an independent film outside Toronto. She gave him all of her basics as well and he truly seemed interested in her, asking questions about her album and family.

As they approached the hall, she could see cameras and people standing everywhere. There was a definite frenzy of activity and she got nervous looking at it.

He saw her tense at the sight ahead of them and gently put his hand on top of hers.

"Hey, don't worry. I've been through this many times. Once you get out there, it's a rush."

"Thanks," she said warmly. "Are you coming too or are we just meeting up later?"

"I think we're meeting up later. I'm going to sneak out of the limo after you go and then I'll see you at the after-party. Hopefully holding an award."

She smiled nervously. "Thanks. Let's hope."


	8. Chapter 8

Hi again. I have to start by saying a big YAY--this story just hit 100 REVIEWS! You guys are amazing, your feedback has been awesome! It really keeps me going and I appreciate it so much, you have no idea. Erin-aka-Pip: Nope, Josh isn't a real person, totally made up, though I picture him to be like Chad Michael Murray or someone from the WB.

So here's our next part, at the awards. You'll be happy to know that I decided this week to stick with my original concept for this story. There's still drama but not as many bumps and burns as I was considering adding. I like seeing Jude happy, on the show and in my story. So with that in mind, here's our next part. BTW, I don't own any part of the show, just my own crazy ideas...ENJOY!

* * *

The limo pulled up to the middle of the red carpet and the driver opened the door as Jude said a quick goodbye to Josh and slid out. The moment she stepped out, she was blinded by cameras and deafened by people calling out her name. She smiled nervously, as EJ came running up to her from the limo behind and brought her into the center of the carpet. Jude smiled as best as she could and held a few of the poses that EJ had shown her earlier. After a few moments, EJ ushered her over to the first interviewer in line. They asked her a few questions about her nominations, her album, and what she was wearing, and then took a few photos, before EJ came to take her to the next interviewer. 

By the time she got to the end of the line, she was exhausted. She had shaken so many hands and smiled for so many photos, she felt as though she was a broken record. She relaxed at the entrance to the concert hall, rubbing her jaw from smiling so much. EJ hastily led her to her seat, down the aisle near the front. She sat down on the end of the aisle, next to Sadie, with her mom and Steven after that in the row. Tommy sat immediately behind her next to Kwest and EJ squeezed in between Georgia and Darius further inside. Jude felt her nerves kick in again as she explained to Sadie what it was like to answer the same four questions fifty times.

As the ceremony began, the lights dimmed and she felt Tommy lean forward and grab her hand in the aisle. She turned back and smiled nervously at him. After a brief musical performance, the awards began. The first few revolved around bands or groups, so Jude relaxed and cheered for some of her favorites. Jude clenched her hands together as the award for Best Male Performer was given out. She nervously applauded and glanced at Sadie anxiously, knowing the next award was one of her nominations.

As the two celebrity announcers walked up to the podium, Jude felt her heart race. They quickly announced each of the nominees as Jude felt lights and cameras shine directly on her. She smiled awkwardly and gave a quick wave into the camera, her feeling of nausea growing stronger.

The envelope opened….

Her heart pounded inside her chest as Sadie grabbed her hand in anticipation…

The announcer went to speak….

"And the winner of the Best Female Performer goes to…"

She closed her eyes nervously and breathed in deeply, listening to the envelope opening on stage. Finally, she heard the announcer take a deep breath and shout,

"Eden Taylor!"

Jude lost her breath and opened her eyes. She turned to stare blankly at Sadie.

"Eden?" she asked disbelievingly, loud enough so that everyone around her could hear.

"Guess so…" Sadie replied, shocked herself. "I'm really sorry, Jude."

Jude shook her head, trying to come to terms with losing to her nemesis. "No, no, I'm okay with losing, but to Eden? That's just…so…"

"Wrong," Tommy finished from behind her, watching Eden approach the podium in an overly skimpy red dress. It was clearly at least two sizes too small on her and was set off by her bright red lipstick.

"Yeah…" Jude responded distantly.

"Don't worry, Jude. You've got one more," Darius reminded her as Eden giggled into the microphone and began her acceptance speech. She thanked her hairstylist, manicurist, publicity reps, record company, and finally, her dog, Fluffy.

Jude turned around and looked skeptically at Tommy. "Did she just thank her dog?"

Tommy laughed, as did Kwest and Sadie. "Yup. Kind of sad, isn't it."

"I'll say," Jude replied, turning back around. "She didn't thank her family or friends."

"That's because her family and friends disowned her once she chose that dress," Sadie whispered with a smile. Jude laughed and suddenly felt a wave of ease wash over her. She had gotten through one award and even though it wasn't hers, she felt strong enough to be able to accept defeat. Even to Eden Taylor.

The awards continued, handing out song and album awards. Then came her other nomination—the one she wanted so badly: Best New Artist. Many famous, talented musicians had previously won this award, including Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette.

She took a deep breath as the announcers approached the podium again. The presenters reminded the audience that this award was one of the most coveted within the industry, that it represented an artist who not only has shown incredible talent and ability within the past year but is also someone believed to embody the future of the music industry.

Jude felt her heart rate increase once more as Sadie grabbed her hand. She mouthed to her, "good luck," as the announcers finished their speech and went through the list of nominees. Jude nervously smiled again into the camera, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The sound of silence echoed throughout the auditorium as the envelope was opened. Everyone sat on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the winner. Jude listened to the quick breaths of Sadie to her right and felt her mom's hand fall on top of hers and Sadie's.

She looked down at her feet, at her brown shoes and waited…

"And the winner…"

Jude closed her eyes once more, feeling Tommy's hand grab her other hand and squeeze tightly.

"…is…"

She wanted to get it over with as her hands shook and the announcer continued slowly.

"JUDE HARRISON!"

Jude took a deep breath and looked at Sadie in disbelief, as she heard EJ shriek from behind her.

"Me?" she asked quietly.

Sadie smiled widely and nodded quickly, pulling her in for a hug. "CONGRATULATIONS!"

Jude looked around her in shock, feeling Sadie pull her up out of her seat. Her mom rushed over to her and enveloped her in a suffocating hug. Jude smiled in astonishment, reality starting to sink in, and turned behind her to be attacked by everyone from G-Major. EJ and Georgia were jumping up and down for her as Tommy swept her up into an eager hug, lifting her off her feet. She smiled and laughed nervously, grabbing her bag and pulling out a piece of paper on which she had hastily written a few names for her speech.

Sadie pushed her down the aisle, towards the stage, as everyone in the hall stood up and applauded for her. She looked around in shock, rubbing her forehead and gaping at the crowd. She uneasily walked up the steps towards the podium, her legs feeling like jelly. She got to the top as the announcers handed her the award, a heavy gold statue. They gave her quick kisses on the cheek and then backed up, allowing her to take her position at the microphone.

She swallowed and looked around the room, at all of the people yelling and applauding in her honor. The lights shone brightly into her eyes, making the audience appear as shadows but she squinted her eyes to better distinguish the faces before her. The moment felt surreal—as though she was watching herself from above. She smiled widely and laughed into the microphone, stunned at the audience response, and cleared her throat to begin her thank you's.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello all--so here's the next part, with her acceptance speech. I hope you like it! The next part or two are both a little mushy, you know I love the mush! Thanks again for your reviews, they're so great. BTW, I really liked the last episode. Speid and Jude are cute together, for now at least. Until Tommy gets his act together and goes after the Harrison he really wants! And April 7th is totally cruel, although the next episode looks really good! I kind of like seeing bad Tommy :) Anyway, enough rambling, here's the next update. Hope you ENJOY!

* * *

"Wow…" Jude started, hearing her voice echo throughout the hall. People slowly sat down, although she vaguely noticed that G-Major and her family were still standing and cheering for her, yelling her name. 

"Thank you…I don't think I can say that enough…for somebody who usually doesn't shut up, I think I'm finally speechless," she said unthinkingly. She heard a few laughs and laughed nervously herself, looking down at the gold statue in her hands and remembering her list of names for thank-you's.

"I wrote down a few names to thank in case I would actually be up here," she started. She unfolded the paper and put the statue on the podium. She took a deep breath and smiled widely, feeling a sudden rush of excitement from having all eyes on her and knowing she had won.

"First, I'd like to thank my family and friends for standing by me over the past year and a half. My life has changed so drastically, but my parents, my sister Sadie, my best friends Jamie and Kat have all managed to support me unconditionally and are still my strongest influences. You all are the reason why I'm still standing and able to make music."

"Almost of equal importance, I need to thank my record company, G-Major. They have been so supportive of me in everything I've done. I am beyond thankful that they took a chance on me, even if I wasn't the typical pop star they were looking for from the Instant Star contest. I appreciate everything they've done and how they've welcomed me as a member of their family."

She smiled warmly and took a deep breath, reading the list of names on the note. "To Georgia and Darius, for all of their guidance and direction. They can be tough, but I'm grateful to have management that cares so much about me. To EJ, for all of her energy and motivation. And for getting me here on time," she added with a giggle, hearing it echo throughout the hall by the audience.

"To Kwest, my friend and sound engineer, who makes the music come alive and always provides me with an objective, valuable opinion." She paused and took a deep breath, smiling.

"And to my producer, my co-writer, and my closest friend, Tom Quincy," she said, feeling the tears of happiness surface and trying to make out his face in the crowd. "There is no way I would be here without you. Working with you on this album has been the most amazing experience of my life and I have been inspired by you in more ways than you know. This award is just as much yours as it is mine," she said, pausing and meeting his eyes through the audience. "And you're not allowed to argue with me this time," she concluded, smiling meaningfully at him. She heard a few laughs as she finished.

"And finally, to all of the fans. Thank you so much for listening and appreciating the music. You are really the reason why I'm up here and I thank you all for your motivation and support."

She looked around, glancing one last time at the crowd and taking a mental picture of the moment. "Well, I guess that's it, thank you all so much!" she yelled before flashing her elated smile. She grabbed her crumpled note and trophy and was ushered backstage by the two announcers. The audience resumed applauding as she left the stage, Tommy and the rest of her friends and family standing up again and screaming her name.

About ten minutes later, after EJ had rushed to join Jude backstage, there was a short press conference where Jude got to answer more questions from eager reporters awaiting her reaction to the award. Jude stood on a small stage surrounded by journalists and told them how ecstatic she was and how thankful she was. She held the award close to her, smile plastered on her face the whole time, and answered each question with poise and sincerity. As she finished the last question and thanked everyone, Jude made her way off the stage towards EJ. They hastily adjusted her hair and reapplied more lip gloss, as Jude smiled for a few more photos.

EJ chatted with one of the reporters as Jude continued to answer more questions. As she recounted her feelings accepting the award, she saw a distant figure waiting patiently in the back of the room. She moved slightly to get a better view and saw that it was Tommy. She automatically smiled and felt her nerves flutter in eagerness to reunite with him. She quickly finished the interview, politely excusing herself. Not wanting to draw more attention to herself, she walked back casually towards him, meeting his gaze and sensing his anticipation and enthusiastic smile at seeing her. She walked a little faster, smile glowing and weaving between reporters, as he moved out from his corner to meet her midway. Feeling her patience decreasing, she jogged lightly in her heels, her eyes locked on his as she approached him. Without thinking, she jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him and squealing in delight. He beamed at her actions but felt a hard knock on his back as her trophy hit him.

"Ouch…" he quietly muttered, holding her tightly and lifting her off the ground.

"Sorry," she murmured, head buried in his shoulder and moving the trophy away from him. As she shifted it, he moved one hand to the back of her neck and the other to her lower back, pulling her in closer. He closed his eyes to memorize the moment, feeling her happiness emanate through the hug. Her tears re-emerged, overwhelmed by emotion, as she squeezed him tightly.

They stayed in that position for at least a minute as all eyes focused on them. Despite not wanting to draw attention to herself, her shriek had caused the reporters to whip out their cameras, snapping photos of their embrace. They didn't care though—neither noticed the reaction, and even if they had, it wouldn't have mattered.

He slowly put her back on the ground, not wanting to let go. She sniffled a little, feeling the tears fall on her cheeks, and loosened her grip on him. He felt her relax and pulled back too, looking into her teary eyes and feeling the emotion overwhelm him too. He gently wiped a few of her tears and smiled affectionately at her.

"Do I always ruin your makeup?" he asked softly.

She laughed lightly through her tears and released her arms from around him, clutching the trophy. Still caught up in their own world and not noticing the people gawking around them, he glanced down at the award and smiled in pride at her achievement.

"Wow, you really did it," he remarked quietly.

"None of that," she quickly responded. "_We_ did it, remember?"

He smiled humbly and looked into her eyes. "How could I forget?"

She grinned and bit her lip, wanting to kiss him more than anything. He recognized her craving and desperately wanted to kiss her too, but suddenly felt the eyes of the reporters and onlookers. She looked around the room too, smiling faintly for the cameras. He wrapped his arm around her and smiled as the cameras went off in a frenzy. They stood there for a moment, in their pose, until he grabbed her free hand and dragged her out of the room. She willingly followed him, fleeing the flashes behind them, into the lobby and down a deserted hallway. Neither one spoke a word as he searched for an empty space, preferably one with a lock.


	10. Chapter 10

Hi--This chapter is a little longer, so I'm just going to jump right into it. Thanks again for all of your feedback! There's more mush in this chapter, but some steam too...:-) Hope you ENJOY!

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Tommy dragged her down a narrow hallway, searching for an empty room, somewhere where they could be alone for a few minutes. Jude kept up with his pace, holding onto him with one hand and her trophy with the other.

He eventually found a door that was unlocked. He quickly entered the dark vacant room and pulled on her hand, causing her to jump into the room with him, as he closed the door behind her. He swiftly turned the lock as she placed the trophy on a nearby table. Lights still out, he didn't hesitate a moment before grasping her waist and pulling her into him, pushing his lips forcefully onto hers. She eagerly threw her arms around his neck, kissing him impatiently. He lifted her up so her lips were at his level and pressed her against the wall to keep her steady. He took hold of her lips and mouth, sweeping his tongue against hers and feeling the soft silk of her dress under his fingertips. She held onto him tightly, meeting his intensity and hungrily pressing her lips against his. She remained propped up a few inches from the ground as her shoes slipped to the edge of her toes. Their emotions and exhilaration flowed freely as they kissed, passionately and sincerely.

After a good five minutes of intense lip locking, their actions slowed and they both struggled for breath. He loosened his hold on her, allowing her to slide down to the ground and back into her shoes. She kept her hands clasped behind his neck as their lips parted, resting her head against his and breathing deeply. He too breathed heavily, eyes closed and arms draped around her.

They gradually regained consciousness, as he pulled back to look into her eyes.

"Jude, when you won," he started, remembering the moment, "I thought about how much you deserved to be up there. You've worked so hard for this. That award was validation for all of your talent, work and determination."

She looked up at him through tears in her eyes. She shakily stated, "I meant everything I said in my speech. There's no way I'd be close to where I am without you."

He grinned affectionately at her, brushing her cheek. "Everything you said up there meant a lot to me. Thank you."

He leaned over to capture her lips. He tenderly kissed her, holding her close, then quietly said, "So this is the official part of my congratulations."

"Part? As in, there's more?" she asked eagerly.

"Maybe," he said mischievously. "I might have something up my sleeve, but you'll have to wait and see."

Just as she was about to question him, there was a loud knock on the door and fumbling of the doorknob. Jude and Tommy looked at each other in a panic and straightened their clothing before Tommy casually opened the door and stared into the eyes of a 6'6'' security guard.

"Can I help you?" Tommy asked.

"No, but you can get out of this room. It's off limits. Didn't you see the sign?" the man asked crossly, pointing to a small note on the door reading "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."

"Oh, well, I'm actually authorized personnel," Tommy lied, clearing his throat nervously.

"Where's your badge?" the security guard questioned with his arms crossed. Tommy quickly felt around in his pockets and then shrugged at the security guard.

"Sorry, I think I left it at my seat."

"Right," the security guard replied sarcastically. Jude, who was standing behind Tommy, grabbed her trophy and held it tightly. The security guard glanced beyond Tommy to the scared face behind him and said in a much softer tone, "Hey, aren't you Jude Harrison?"

Jude looked at Tommy hesitantly, and then stepped forward, saying, "Yes."

"Wow, my daughter is a huge fan. Would you mind signing something for me?" the man asked.

"No problem," she agreed, taking his pen and signing a napkin he had in his pocket.

"Congratulations on your award," he said as she handed it back to him. "Listen, you two aren't supposed to be in here and I should be reporting you."

"What if we offered you tickets to her next show?" Tommy asked, hoping a bribe would sway him.

The security guard looked them both over, debating their offer. "Well…I don't know…"

"Front row?" Tommy offered, more desperate.

"Well…alright. But only because my daughter would be upset if I told her I met you but came home empty handed."

"Thank you," Tommy said with relief, shaking the man's hand vigorously.

After getting the security guard's contact information for the tickets, they took off down the lobby, holding hands, as EJ ran up to them in a frenzy.

"Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Sorry, we just needed a breather," Jude replied.

"And far away from any photographers," Tommy added.

EJ nodded skeptically, scrutinizing both of their appearances and noting their hands intertwined. Without questioning them, she abruptly pulled on Jude's arm, out of his grip, and dragged her back into the auditorium, with Tommy following. Jude was met with hugs and congratulations by everyone around her, all vying to get a look at the coveted award in her hand. The ceremony wrapped up with the last awards and a final performance. Jude felt like she was on cloud nine, glowing throughout the remainder of the ceremony.

As it concluded, she followed EJ into the lobby, ready for the after-party. The party was held outside the auditorium in a spacious covered tent. She knew that Josh was meeting her there, but she didn't think about him as she walked alongside Tommy. The group followed the carpet towards the lights out back, hearing loud music and seeing a swirl of activity.

Approaching the tent, she saw Josh waiting at the entrance holding a bouquet of white roses. She gasped at the sight as EJ pulled her away from the group and closer to Josh. He smiled and gave her the bouquet.

"I knew you wouldn't come back empty-handed," Josh said, looking at her award.

"Thank you!" she said enthusiastically, leaning in and giving him a hug.

"Congratulations," he said warmly.

She smiled widely at him, as EJ spoke from beside them.

"Okay, guys, I want to make sure you're both seen in the papers tomorrow. So go dance, have fun, and make sure you're in the direct line of vision of the paparazzi."

They both nodded, agreeing to her plan, as Josh held out his arm for Jude to take.

"Ready?"

She smiled and grabbed his arm. "Let's do it."

Tommy stood there grinding his teeth and watchfully followed them into the tent with the rest of the group.

Photographers immediately pounced on the happy couple as they entered, causing quite a stir. Reporters asked if they were an item, how long they had been dating, if he had given her the flowers. They didn't answer any of the questions, just smiled as the camera flashes went off.

"They look happy, wouldn't you say?" Sadie said quietly to Tommy, who had his arms crossed watching them pose for photos.

He turned to look at her and scoffed, "They barely know each other."

"I know," she replied, looking back at them, "but don't you think they look great together? I mean, he seems really into her."

Tommy just shrugged, trying to hide his aggravation.

"Please don't tell me you're doing this whole denial routine too," she said bluntly. "Tommy, you seem to forget that _I _was the one who helped you win her over during the blizzard."

He sighed and watched Jude walk towards the dance floor, chatting contently with Josh.

"Okay, so I won't be the first one to send them a wedding gift," Tommy admitted.

"She's crazy about you, you know that," she said comfortingly.

"I know," he agreed hesitantly. "I just don't like watching this."

"So don't," she said. "Let's go check out some of those catering trays I saw go by."

He grinned. "Now that you mention it, pigs in a blanket would make me feel better."

"Funny how they have that effect," she laughed, walking with him towards the appetizers on the other side of the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Finally! I've been trying to post this chapter for the past few days and kept getting an error message. I don't want you all to think I've been slacking, but I was having some serious issues.

Anyway, hello! I've decided to stick to my original direction for this part of the story which might not be what some of you are expecting...but I had a burst of inspiration and wrote the next few chapters, which are filled with some really good drama-rama! I'm excited thinking about them! So I'm going to make a conscious effort to post quicker so we can get there. I'm aiming to get a chapter up every 2-3 days or so, at least until I don't have any more chapters written! I really hope you like these next few posts--let me know what you think! ENJOY!

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Jude and Josh spent the night together, getting to know each other, dancing, and schmoozing with other celebrities. Tommy stayed with Sadie throughout the night, except for the times when she rushed off to meet someone famous. He kept his eyes on Jude, unable to look away. He watched her light up as Josh told her a funny story or when she posed cheerfully for more photos. He saw her steal french fries off his plate of food and when he dragged her out on the dance floor despite her resistance. If she was acting, she would surely get an Oscar—she had the whole room convinced that they were an item, as people continued to ogle at them. 

As Jude and Josh finished their third helping of finger foods, Josh got pulled away for a quick interview. She went to the bar for another drink and heard a familiar voice behind her.

"So, looks like you were beat yet again by me. Not surprising in the least."

Jude turned around to see Eden standing before her, smiling smugly and holding a glass of champagne.

"Oh really? Then why didn't you win Best New Artist, Eden?" Jude asked, grabbing her drink from the bar.

"Politics," Eden said, taking a sip of the bubbling liquid in her glass. "You didn't really think you deserved to win, did you?"

"Politics? That's your theory?" Jude asked disbelievingly.

"It's not a theory, it's a fact. They can't give too many awards to one person."  
"That's pathetic," Jude commented, rolling her eyes. "You're just bitter because you didn't win."

"Me? Bitter? Get over yourself, Jude. You only won because the judges felt sorry for you."

"Oh right," Jude said, anger rising. "Sorry for me because I have talent?"

"Is that what they call screaming into a microphone these days?" Eden asked with disgust.

Jude fumed, pulled back her drink to throw on Eden, as she felt someone's hand come up behind her and grab the glass.

"What are you—" she started angrily, whipping around to see Tommy gripping the glass.

"Hey, now," he said, pulling the drink out of Jude's stiff hand to avoid a PR nightmare.

"Hi, Tommy Q. Did you come over here to congratulate me too?" Eden asked with a smile.

"Actually, Eden," he said calmly, "I'm here for the real winner of the evening. If you're nicer to her, maybe she'll give you a shout out next year during her acceptance speech. You know, since you'll be sitting on your couch eating ice cream with your dog," Tommy said with a grin, ushering Jude away.

Eden seethed in anger as Jude smiled and laughed at his comment. Tommy laughed too as he pulled her towards the back of the tent.

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

"Are you kidding? That was fun," he admitted.

"How are you?" she asked, inspecting him. "I feel like I haven't seen you all night."

"That's probably because loverboy over there hasn't let you leave his side," Tommy said bluntly, glancing over at Josh who was wrapping up his interview and looking towards Jude.

"Tommy…" she said regrettably.

"I know, I know," he said quickly. "Is this hard for you, Jude? Do you mind spending all night with him? Because this isn't really my idea of fun."

"Of course it's hard for me," she stated. "But I honestly don't mind spending time with him. He's not a bad guy. He's entertaining and fun to hang out with."

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," he spat sarcastically, turning around to see Josh waving at her. She quickly waved back, feeling guilty, and turned back to Tommy.

"But he's not you," she said softly.

He looked into her eyes but quickly looked away, seeing Josh walk towards them. "Whatever, it doesn't really matter," Tommy said distantly, turning to walk away.

"Tommy, wait—" she pleaded, grabbing his arm. Josh approached them as Tommy stepped out of her grasp and took off towards the bar.

"What was that about?" Josh asked, seeing Tommy walk off and Jude look as if she could cry.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? It doesn't look like nothing," he said, noting her sadness.

"I'm fine," she assured him, but still not looking happy.

He scrutinized her face, scrunched up in defeat. "You know, this is your night. Don't let anybody get to you."

"It's not that," she said, sighing deeply. "I just hate it when I feel like I'm letting people down, you know?"

He nodded understandably. "Yeah, I know that feeling. But it's hard not to. Everybody expects something out of you—you're not going to be able to make everybody happy."

"But some people are worth making happy," she said quietly, her eyes leaving him and darting over towards the bar.

He looked at her closely, following her eyes. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head. "I'm here with you and that's the only thing I want to think about tonight."

He examined her reaction and shook his head. "As much as I appreciate that thought, I'd like it more if you weren't frowning. Go take care of whatever it is you need to do."

She looked at him closely and gave a small grin. "I'll only be a few minutes."

"Take your time," he urged, smiling. "I think I need one more round of fries anyway."

Tommy was standing at the bar with his back to the crowd, sipping his rum and coke. He loosened his tie a bit and scanned the bar, seeing the mix of PR people, celebrities, and groupies hanging all over each other. He could picture Jude standing with Josh off in some corner, laughing at all of his jokes, as he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

"That was fast, Sadie…" he said, turning around to see Jude standing before him.

"What was fast?" she asked, surveying his reaction.

"Oh, umm, Sadie went to go meet that Justin Timberlake guy. She's been running after celebrities all night."

"You're not a big enough star for her anymore?"

"Guess not," he admitted, shaking his head. "She's trying to move up in the world."

Jude nodded and smiled, feeling the awkwardness of their last conversation take over. She took a deep breath and held out her hand for him to take.

"Want to dance?" she asked.

He looked at her doubtfully. "What about your date? Won't he mind?"

"He'll get over it," she said, taking his hand from his side, pulling him away from the bar.

"Jude, I don't dance," he protested as she pulled him onto the dance floor.

"So? Neither do I," she reminded him. "It's a slow one, I think you can handle it."

He sighed, as she wrapped her arm around his neck. He hesitantly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into him, and held her hand to his chest.

They slowly turned, holding each other close without a word, listening to the words of Norah Jones echo through the tent.

"I didn't mean to ditch you all night," Jude said softly, needing to say what was on her mind. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he countered. "I'm sorry for what I said. I knew what I was getting into, it's just a little tougher than I thought."

"It's tough for me too," she said convincingly. "He's a fun guy to hang out with but he's not the one I want to be with."

"I know," he admitted quietly.

"And it's only one night, then it's done."

"Right. One night," he replied, spinning her around a little quicker and holding her tighter. She smiled and rested her head on the edge of his shoulder, closing her eyes. He closed his eyes a little too and smiled, savoring the moment. Neither wanted the song to end, and failed to notice the stunned eyes and flashing cameras focused on them.


	12. Chapter 12

Hi--as promised, I'm trying to update quicker for all of you wonderful readers. Thanks again for your feedback--it's really helpful for me to know what you like or don't like and what you would want to see. I have written a few chapters ahead, but beyond that, who knows where this is going! This is the last scene at the Juno's, although there's plenty to deal with in the aftermath from the night...hope you ENJOY!

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As Tommy and Jude continued dancing, Josh stood on the opposite side of the room with Sadie. He talked with Sadie, but couldn't help but glance towards the couple on the dance floor, noting their close embrace and intermittent gazing into each others' eyes.

"So no music for you?" he asked, returning his concentration to Sadie.

"Nope. Jude's the musician, I'm the athlete."

"I'm sure people compare you two all the time," he commented. "It's good that you have your own interests."

Sadie nodded. "I guess that's true. Jude and I are similar in a lot of ways, but we're also very different."

"How are you similar?" Josh asked, intrigued.

"Well, we're both strong-willed and hard-working. And we both like pizza and chocolate," she explained, following Josh's eyes to observe the couple on the dance floor. "And certain guys."

Josh looked at her in confusion and then back to the couple on the dance floor.

"Wait, so you two…you and him…or was it her and him…"

She cut him off to explain. "I dated him. For a couple of months."

"And did she? I mean, is she?" Josh stammered.

Sadie shrugged and looked over at them. "I don't know. But they're close."

Josh looked at them too as the song ended. They watched Jude and Tommy slowly separate, holding hands, and walk off the dance floor. In their own world, they wandered towards the bar, while Josh turned back to Sadie.

"I think I just lost my date."

She turned to him and said, "She'll come back."

He grinned at her and said softly, "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she didn't."

Sadie blushed, smiling meekly, and took a sip of her drink.

Jude and Tommy made their way back to Josh and Sadie a few minutes later. They tried to act casual and friendly as they approached, seeing Josh and Sadie laughing.

"Hi," Jude said to Josh. "Did I miss anything?"

"Not really," Josh said. "Your sister was just _trying_ to entertain me."

"Trying? I _was_ entertaining you," Sadie replied, nudging him in the side.

Jude and Tommy eyed each other, both picking up on a vibe between Josh and Sadie.

Josh turned back to Jude. "They just restocked the potato skins. Want some?"

"Sure," she agreed, stepping away to join him.

After gathering potato skins, Josh and Jude sat down at one of the tables. He looked at her munching and said quietly,

"So, I have a question for you. Why are you here with me and not him?"

Jude coughed loudly, choking on her potato skin, and took a sip of her drink. That was the last thing she expected to hear from him.

"What do you mean?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"Jude, I can tell. There's something between you two," he explained.

She sighed and sat back in her chair. "It's complicated," she replied ambiguously, shoving another potato skin into her mouth to avoid any more questions.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm having a really great time with you tonight. But I feel like you're not completely here."

"I'm sorry, Josh. I promise it's not you."

Josh nodded slowly, considering his approach. "Whether you are or aren't with him isn't really my business, but can I give you some advice?" he asked, as she nodded, eager to hear his perspective.

"My Grandma Rose always says that you need to make yourself happy and make your own decisions, even if it's not what everybody else would choose for you."

She grinned at him. "Your Grandma Rose sounds like a very smart woman."

"She is," he said. "She's had to deal with a lot of my stupid decisions and she still loves me. People learn to accept your choices, even when you think they won't."

She thought for a moment about his advice, appreciating his honesty. She smiled widely and said, "Thanks. I think I needed to hear that."

"No problem. Listen, I know it can be brutal being in the spotlight. But you can't let those cameras tell you how to live your life," he said, seeing EJ glance towards them. "I won't say a word about any of this, but I do think we should stick together tonight, unless you want to make EJ mad."

She saw EJ beckoning them towards the dance floor. "I've made EJ mad before and it wasn't a pretty sight."

They stood up as he turned towards her. "For what it's worth, I've had a lot of fun tonight. Even if I wasn't your first choice, I'm glad I'm here."

"Me too," she said with a smile, taking his hand and heading back towards the swarm of press.

As the night came to a close, Jude's mom and Steven said their goodnights, heading to Steven's place for the night. Darius, Kwest, Georgia, and EJ took off too after giving Jude one last hug. Jude and Josh approached Sadie and Tommy who were waiting by the exit. The four of them left the tent, walking down the carpet towards the two limos waiting out front.

Jude negotiated in her head how to handle the situation. As she contemplated her options, Josh turned towards her. "Well, I guess this is it."

"You're not taking me home?" she asked, surprised at his statement to end the night.

He leaned into her, giving her a hug. "I think that's someone else's job," he whispered.

She smiled back at him. "So you're just going to head home?"

"Nah," he said quietly, his eyes wandering past Jude. "Unless your sister's tired."

Jude's eyes widened at his interest in Sadie. "I'm sure she's not tired yet."

He grinned and glanced at Sadie, who was hugging Tommy. They all stood looking at each other awkwardly, knowing that they were about to swap dates. Josh cleared his throat and asked, "So, know of any good after-hours spots, Sadie?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "I'd be happy to take you if you want."

Josh smiled and walked towards her, ushering her towards the limo. She smiled and mouthed "good night" to Jude as she got in the limo with Josh.

Jude and Tommy watched them leave and stood there, in front of the other limo. They smiled at each other for a moment until Tommy approached her, holding his hand out for her to take.

"Ready to roll?"

"Definitely," she said, taking his hand.

As the limo drove off away from the auditorium, they relaxed in the back seat. They didn't speak one word about Josh or the date—it was over and hopefully, soon to be forgotten.

Not being able to wait until they reached their destination, Tommy reached into his pocket and grabbed a small box. She looked at him in surprise as he placed the box on her lap.

"Open it," he urged her.

Her eyes lit up as she took the box in her hands and slowly opened it. Her mouth opened in awe at the contents—a silver necklace with a single, small star hanging at the bottom with a diamond in the middle. She pulled it out of the box and held it in her hands.

"It matches your ring," he said, taking it from her hands and clasping it around her neck. "And so you can remember this night."

"I love it," she said, looking at it around her neck. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," he said, looking at her. "I wanted to make sure that you got something special, with or without the award."

She smiled and leaned in to connect her lips to his, touched by his gesture. She wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her in closer. As she held onto him tightly, she kept thinking about how incredible her night had been. Though it was stressful at times, it couldn't have ended better for her, walking away with both the award and the guy of her dreams.


	13. Chapter 13

Hi! I hope you liked the last part, I wasn't sure if it was too cheesy, but as promised, drama is on the way! This next chapter is one of my favorites--I'm not sure exactly why, but I loved writing the first part. It came out really quickly and I always like when I can re-read sections and still be entertained (as you know, I am easily entertained by my own stupid humor). Anyway, I hope you like it too! There's some foreshadowing at the end of this chapter, so hold on to your hats, drama definitely picks up...

Thanks again for all of your amazing feedback--let me know if you like this part too. I don't own any characters or any actual part of Instant Star, though the story is all mine :) ENJOY!

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"'Jude Harrison: Singer, Award Winner, and Juggler?'" 

"Nice title."

"Ehhem…as I was saying, 'Jude Harrison: Singer, Award Winner, and Juggler? Jude Harrison, last year's Instant Star winner, took home the sought-after title of 'Best New Artist' at last night's Juno awards, but that wasn't what made her the talk of the evening. Was it her stunning chocolate-colored dress? Or her flawless makeup and hair?' It was flawless, wasn't it?"

"EJ, will you finish already?"

"Sorry. 'No, it wasn't either. In fact, Jude Harrison was the talk of the night for her ability to juggle the men in her life. In one corner stood her famed producer, Tom Quincy, who she herself quoted as being her 'closest friend' who has 'inspired her in more ways than he knows.' And then in the other corner was well-known model turned actor, Josh Sanders, who showed up at the Juno's after-party to join Miss Harrison. Pictures of her with both men surfaced this morning.'"

EJ stopped and held up the paper to the group. They all saw one picture of her and Tommy's close embrace on the dance floor and then a picture of her and Josh holding hands and canoodling at a dimly lit table.

EJ resumed, "'Jude's relationship with her producer has been called 'close' by numerous sources, but are they closer than just artist and producer? Closer than friends? And where did Josh Sanders surface from? We tried to get an exclusive interview with the pair but they only admitted to 'having a great time together' and 'wanting to enjoy the night.' There were clearly sparks between them but they would not comment on the status of their relationship. Are they, in fact, an item? Or is he just another pawn in her publicity stunt? And where does Tommy Q fall in her life? Producer, friend, boyfriend? We may just have to wait for the next event to know the truth.'"

Everyone was silent as EJ finished reading and set the paper down on the table. Jude looked at Georgia who was scanning the photos and rereading part of the article. She then looked quickly at Tommy who was seated across from her with his head in his hands.

"Well, I for one am impressed by my stellar PR job here. They even asked if Josh was a 'pawn in your publicity stunt.' Hello? That's like a PR agent's greatest accomplishment!" EJ exclaimed, examining all of their distant expressions.

"Great job, EJ," Georgia said flatly, patting EJ on the back. "It was a brilliant PR move, although I have to wonder what we're supposed to do now."

"Well," EJ started, unraveling her plan, "now, we just have to focus on the one guy and leave the other one out of it. No offense, Tommy."

He looked up at her and rolled his eyes as she continued. "So to get the ball rolling and make sure people are talking about the right guy, I've arranged for date number two with Josh."

"What?" Jude questioned loudly, causing them all to look up at her, even Tommy.

"Date two—you know, what comes after date one. Is that a problem? Did you have a bad time or something?" EJ asked Jude tersely.

"No, I had a good time," Jude said with a sigh, "But this should be my decision to make. It's like how I feel doesn't matter."

"Well, how do you feel, Jude?" Georgia asked. "Do you not want to go out with him again?"

"I don't know," Jude said quietly, considering the consequences of a second date.

Georgia and EJ looked at each other skeptically and then over to Tommy, who was being unusually quiet.

Georgia walked over towards him and said, "So, Mr. Inspiration, what do you think?"

"Huh?" Tommy said, looking up at Georgia in a daze.

"What do you think about this whole thing? We're trying to get you out of this situation and we'd like to hear how you think it should be handled."

Jude made eye contact with Tommy across the table. He sat there quietly looking at her, seeing the distress in her eyes but not knowing what to say to take it away.

He shook his head and stood up. "I don't know, Georgia. I think Jude should do what she wants. It's her life. It's her face in the papers. If she wants to date him, then she should. But if not, then she shouldn't have to."

"And if she doesn't, you do realize that the rumors will continue to circulate about you two?" Georgia questioned.

"They can talk all they want. I really don't care. Besides," he continued, walking towards the door, "I'm not here to make headlines. I'm here to make music. Which if you don't mind, I'm going to go do." With that, he opened the conference room door and left abruptly.

"What's his problem?" EJ asked, hearing the door close.

"It's that time of the month," Jude said quietly, looking at EJ and grinning.

Half an hour later, Jude entered Studio B, seeing Tommy with his headphones on. She silently walked in, closed the door, and sat down in the chair next to him. He sighed, feeling her sitting beside him, and took off his headphones.

"What was that?" she asked him bluntly.

"Jude, don't…"

"No, Tommy. Tell me. What's going on? I thought you were fine with Josh. You're the one who took me home last night, not him. Why are you suddenly so worked up about this?"

He exhaled and raked his fingers through his hair. "I just thought we were done with all of this."

"So did I," she said, sighing too and leaning back in her chair.

"So… are you going out with him again?" he asked hesitantly.

"Sort of," she said quietly, as he leaned back into his chair, closed his eyes, and groaned. "Tommy, I know you didn't want to talk about him last night, but there's something I need to tell you. He knows."

"He knows what?" Tommy asked, opening his eyes.

"About us. He knows."

"How does he know?" he asked, a bit of an edge to his voice.

"He just does. I didn't tell him so don't look at me like that. He saw us together and sensed there was something going on. Besides, he likes Sadie."

Tommy sat there, a confused look on his face, trying to figure out what this means.

Jude leaned in closer, speaking softly. "I was thinking…maybe it's not a bad thing for him to know. Maybe we could use it to our advantage."

"How?" he asked.

"He could be our cover. Like my fake boyfriend. Like a decoy."

"A decoy?" Tommy replied, mulling over the idea.

"Yeah, to throw everybody off. As long as he's okay with still going out with me, it could take the pressure off of you and me. EJ and Georgia would be happy and then, in another couple of months, we break up."

"Hmm…that might work…as long as you're positive he's clear about this," he replied.

"I am," she assured him. "He and Sadie have something, you saw it yourself. But I can go through the plan with him. And maybe I'll tell Sadie, just so she doesn't think I'm going after him."

"Wouldn't want you and your sister to fight over some guy," Tommy said with a smirk.

"No way. Been there, done that," she said with a light laugh. "What do you think?"

"I think," he said, leaning into her, "that you've got yourself a plan. As long as you're sure he won't say anything and he's on our side, I'm in."

"Good," she said with a smile. "I'll talk to him. Just leave it all to me."


	14. Chapter 14

Hi! I realized the other day that there are so many really great fanfics on this site all of a sudden. I'm having trouble keeping track but they're all so good! Anyway, I hope you're all still reading and enjoying this one. I'm still enjoying writing it, so I hope you're happy so far with where we're going.

I loved writing this next chapter...there are some funny lines that make me smile. It's definitely one of my faves and you'll see why. Drama ahead! Anyway, hope you ENJOY:-)

* * *

Just as she had promised, Jude went through the plan with Josh, who was actually just as open to the arrangement as Tommy had been. He hated having his personal relationships publicized to the world, so he used the opportunity to keep his budding relationship with Sadie out of the tabloids. They had an understanding—their relationship was strictly for show, though they did have a good time together and definitely convinced the press that they were an item. 

Another month went by and Jude had gone out with Josh three more times. She was exhausted bouncing back and forth from one relationship to the next, but she knew it was only temporary. Their fourth date was scheduled at an album launch party for one of G-Major's new artists, Mason Fox.

As Jude and Josh arrived at the party, the photographers, who were stationed outside the club, flashed their cameras repeatedly at the couple. They smiled for photos, then held hands and entered the club. Smiling more for a few photos inside, Jude casually scanned the room to make sure Tommy was there. She saw him in the corner with Sadie, who was playing his date, and smiled. Once the flashes finally ceased, she and Josh headed towards the bar to get a drink. As they made their way across the room, Josh eyed Sadie and winked at her.

"Did you see the paparazzi in the trees?" Jude asked as he handed her a drink.

"Yeah, that would be a fun job. Holding on to a branch with one hand and snapping pictures with the other," Josh joked, taking a sip of his drink.

"The things people do for a buck…" Jude said with a grin, seeing their other halves approach them at the bar.

They all exchanged brief pleasantries as the two couples stood next to each other at the bar. Feeling a lull in conversation, Sadie nonchalantly walked over to Josh, who turned his back towards Jude to engage in conversation with his real girlfriend. Tommy followed Sadie's cue and took a few steps closer to Jude, thus dividing the two real couples.

"Come here often?" Tommy asked with a grin, using the cheesiest pickup line ever.

"Oh yeah, all the time," Jude answered with a smile, looking around at the dark club with neon and strobe lights. "My producer and I hang out here. He's kind of a loser stuck in the 1990's."

Tommy's jaw opened, appearing to be hurt, but his smile gave away his amusement. "Loser? Well," he said, leaning in to her and continuing quietly, "I hear he's only a loser because of this girl he's secretly dating. She's really bad for his image."

"Not bad for his image—just out of his league," she countered with a wide grin.

"Ooo…really?" he questioned, still smiling playfully. He thought for a moment, trying to form a good comeback, but sighed defeatedly. "Okay, you got me there."

She laughed lightly and glanced back at Josh and Sadie, who appeared to be arguing. Sadie stood with her arms crossed while Josh attempted to explain something to her. Jude quickly turned back towards Tommy, choosing to ignore the situation behind her.

"You look very nice tonight, Miss Harrison," Tommy said, looking at her jeans, green tank top with black lining, and black boots.

"Thank you, Mr. Quincy. I have a hot date later."

As she smiled up at him, they both heard Sadie's voice get louder. They turned towards the fighting couple to see Sadie look like she was on the verge of tears.

"I don't understand! You're home for the next couple of weeks, why can't you?"

"It's not that easy, Sadie! I can't go anywhere without cameras and I don't want you to wind up in Talk Weekly."

"What if I don't care? What if—"

"Can you two keep it down?" Jude said, stepping over between Sadie and Josh. "Do you really want to draw attention to our little group here?"

Sadie quieted down but kept her arms crossed. Josh took a deep breath to try to relax.

"Sorry, we're just having a little disagreement," Josh explained. "We'll be quieter, right Sadie?"

"Whatever," Sadie said, rolling her eyes at him.

Jude stepped out from between them and hesitantly walked back towards Tommy. They watched as Josh and Sadie continued their conversation, consciously trying to keep their voices low.

"You'd think I was the older one," Jude stated, turning back towards Tommy.

He grinned and nodded, "This might be a first. We're actually the ones with less drama."

"I know," she agreed with a laugh.

He stepped a little closer to her and grabbed her hand lightly, "So about that hot date later…"

She looked at him skeptically. "Oh right, my hot date," she recalled, remembering where they left off.

"Well, how about we make the date a little sooner?" he asked mischievously.

"Sooner?" she asked in confusion.

"Yeah. I was thinking we could start now."

"Now?" she asked louder, eyes growing wider in more confusion.

"Yes," he said calmly, noting her reaction. "But not here. Over there," he said, pointing to an area on the opposite side of the room that had a screen covering it.

She followed his eyes to the secluded area and negotiated in her head whether the risk was worth it. "Hmmm…it's still public," she said hesitantly.

"Maybe, but that screen is the border between public and private. I happen to have checked it out earlier. There's nothing behind there."

"Are you searching for makeout spots, Quincy?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Maybe," he admitted, grinning at her. "So? What do you say?"

She looked into his eyes and heard her sister's voice start to get louder again behind her. Not wanting to be there to referee another fight, she quickly nodded and held his hand tighter. "Let's go."

Breaking up Josh and Sadie's argument one more time, Jude cut in between them to tell them that she and Tommy were leaving the bar area for a few minutes. They barely noticed the interruption as Tommy and Jude stepped away and the argument continued.

They quietly walked towards the other side of the room, trying to look inconspicuous. They got to the screened off area and slowly crept behind the side of it, entering the empty space. She giggled a little out of nervousness at the danger involved in their actions, as he swept her up in his arms. He kissed her without hesitation, silencing her laughs. She circled her arms around his waist as he brought his fingers through her hair. They broke apart momentarily, feeling a rush from the risk they were running, and listening to the sounds of the voices outside the screen.

"So this is new. Sneaking behind curtains, running around—" she started, when he put his finger up to her lips to silence her.

"Shhhh," he instructed. "They can hear us from the other side. We have to stay quiet."

"Quiet?" she whispered. "Okay. No more talking."

They smiled at each other as she leaned in to capture his lips. He held her tightly, pulling her in closer.

As they stood there embracing each other and kissing passionately, forgetting their surroundings, Tommy thought he heard a faint movement behind them. As he abruptly pulled away to see where the sound was coming from, they were both caught by the blinding light of a flash.

"Smile for the camera," a man shouted at them as they both looked in shock at the camera as it went off.


	15. Chapter 15

Hi--thanks for your great responses from the last post! If you liked that one, then you'll love this one.:) This is another one of my favorite chapters...what can I say, I love the parts with drama! I hope you do too.

As a side note, anyone see the episodes last night? I hate seeing Tommy and Jude angry at each other. I like the whole Juderman combo, but I'm happy knowing it's temporary. Next week looks so good, I can't wait! Oh--and even though it was funny when Jude pushed Tommy into the hot tub, did anyone notice how hot he was when he stood up? He's always hot, but wet Tommy was even better! Sorry, just had to get that out of my system. Anyway, onwards with our next chapter...as always, let me know what you think and I hope you all ENJOY :-)

* * *

"'Jude Harrison: Sweet to Cheat,'" EJ read once more from the headlines. "'Jude Harrison, out with boyfriend Josh Sanders at Mason Fox's album launch last night, was the talk of the town yet again. Only a month ago at the Junos, she was seen with both boyfriend Josh and well-known producer, Tom Quincy, but now this Instant Star may have officially crossed the line. Anonymous sources say that at one point during the night, she was spotted 'kissing Tom Quincy in a corner of the room.' Pictures surfaced this morning of the moment immediately after they were spotted.'" EJ held the picture in front of the group. Jude and Tommy had their arms around each other but their faces showed sheer panic.

"Oh my god…" Jude muttered quietly as Tommy rubbed his forehead in distress.

"'Did she cheat on her boyfriend? Or has this been going on right under Josh's nose the whole time? Josh looked devastated, hanging his head and keeping to himself most of the night. When questioned, Miss Harrison said, 'I am dating Josh and have no further comment.' Mr. Quincy pushed reporters out of the way and exited the building, leaving a frantic and distraught Harrison. No statement from Josh's camp on the incident, though we would be pressed to find any boyfriend pleased to hear of his girlfriend's cheating ways.'"

The group was silent as EJ finished and set the paper down. No one moved, as tension enveloped the room.

Georgia eventually broke the silence by asking, "So…is there something you two would like to share with us?"

Jude looked up anxiously at Tommy, but he kept looking down at his feet, forcing Jude to answer.

"No!" she shouted suddenly. "There's nothing going on. These pictures…we were…hugging!"

"Hugging?" EJ and Georgia asked simultaneously.

"Yeah…they caught us coming out of a hug!" Jude claimed heatedly.

"That must've been some hug. And why does Josh look so sad in this one?" EJ asked, pointing to a side picture of Josh moping around the party.

"I don't know…he's been going through a lot lately. The movie he's working on has been really stressful and he's thinking about quitting. Maybe that was why," Jude quickly pulled together, knowing the answer was his argument with Sadie.

EJ and Georgia eyed each other upon her response, skeptical as usual.

"So, there's nothing going on?" Georgia asked once more.

"Nothing," Jude confirmed.

Georgia shifted her attention to Tommy, still sitting with his head between his hands. "Tommy?"

He slowly looked up at her, then looked over at Jude. "Nothing," he muttered.

"Good," Georgia said. "Now, we have to go into damage control. EJ, let's discuss your plan."

An hour later, the four of them left the conference room. Tommy and Jude headed for Studio B while Georgia and EJ went to Georgia's office to begin making phone calls. The plan was to dispute the rumors and make a statement that it was a friendly hug that was misinterpreted.

As Tommy and Jude arrived in the studio, they saw Kwest sitting there. Tommy silently took a seat next to Kwest and Jude started getting her notebook out of her bag.

"So I take it you two saw the headlines this morning?" Kwest promptly asked, holding a paper in his hand. Neither said anything, just grunted.

"I'll take that as a yes," Kwest replied, eyeing Tommy warily. "So no truth to this?"

"No," Tommy said flatly, putting the headphones on. Kwest looked over at Jude who was grabbing her guitar. She saw his questioning glance and immediately responded,

"Don't look at me like that, Kwest. Tommy already answered."

"Geez," Kwest said, turning to the sound board. "I've obviously struck a nerve with you two."

Jude sighed loudly and walked into the recording booth, putting on her headphones and sitting down to begin recording.

By the time night rolled around, they had finished laying down the guitar portion to a new song. Because both she and Tommy were distracted, it didn't sound half as good as it should have. Kwest had left early so they could work out the track and their personal issues.

"So…nice picture, right?" Jude asked awkwardly, as they rewound the track. "You know, technically, I'm not just a cheater. I'm a liar too. They left that out of the title, but I guess it didn't really rhyme."

"Jude—"

"No, it's okay. This was my plan, my idea, so these are my consequences to deal with."

"It was a good idea in theory," Tommy replied, "and at least Josh didn't say anything."

"He didn't have to. I messed it up," Jude replied hopelessly.

"We both messed up. You didn't do anything on your own. We were both careless."

"Maybe. But it's my situation now. This totally sucks!" she screamed, throwing her hands in the air and standing up. "And you know what the worst part was? Lying to Georgia and EJ."

"I know," he said, standing up too.

"My life has turned into this huge lie. And what are we going to say in 3 months when I turn 18?"

"We'll tell them that nothing happened earlier. No one has to know," he pledged, approaching her. "I hate those reporters. They're making you look like this is all your fault. I almost told EJ and Georgia about us just to take some of the heat off of you."

"That would've made it worse, Tommy."

"I know, but I didn't care. You shouldn't have to deal with this."

She sighed loudly, leaning against the chair. "My family reads that paper. Everybody is going to think I'm a horrible person."

"No, they won't," he countered firmly, pulling her in for a tight hug. "Jude, anyone who knows you will never believe this crap."

"I guess," she said softly, burying her head in his chest. "EJ said that we probably shouldn't be seen in public too much."

"I know," he responded. "Maybe…maybe we should…cool off for awhile?"

She looked up at him in alarm. "Seriously?"

"I just…I don't want to make this worse for you."

"No!" she yelled, stepping back from him. "You really think cooling off is the answer? That would make it harder, Tommy. Then I'd be totally alone in dealing with this!"

"You wouldn't be alone. I'd still be here, we just wouldn't see each other after work."

"Is that what you want?" she asked crossly.

"No…" he said quietly. "I just don't want to add more stress to your life right now."

"You're not. You're helping to take it away. Tommy, I need you now," she pleaded softly, walking close to him and looking into his eyes.

He sighed and brushed some hair out of her face. "Are you sure? I feel terrible about all of this."

"Don't—we just need to be more careful. No prancing around together outside the studio, no seeing each other when we should be with other people. It has to stay between us."

"Right. And no kissing in public," he joked.

She laughed lightly, leaning in closer. "Or behind a screen."

"Okay, okay," he said with a grin, feeling her breath on his lips. "But if it gets too tough—"

"Don't even say it. I'm not giving up," she replied quietly, her lips millimeters away from his. "And I think I can convince you to not give up either."

"Really? Well then, convince away," he replied, closing his eyes and capturing her lips. She closed her eyes as he held her tighter, pressing his lips against hers passionately. He gently reached his hands up the bottom of her shirt, running his fingers up her back. Her hands went to his hair, standing up straighter to feel his thick locks through her fingers. He pulled her closer to him, keeping his hands under her shirt and feeling her soft skin. He started to undo the clasp on her bra, feeling it unhook in his hands and hearing her sigh in his mouth. They kissed intensely, holding each other, getting lost in the moment.

They were so focused on the feel of each other that they failed to notice the door opening and a figure walking in the room. After a few more moments of silence, apart from their own movements, they suddenly heard,

"Well, look what we have here…"


	16. Chapter 16

Hi--thanks so much for all of your feedback on the last chapter! Tommy and Jude definitely aren't having a good day...and the fun continues...

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm going away on Thursday for a long family weekend. I'm going to try my best to post before then (I have the next chapter written but I need to edit it), but if not, I'll be back on Sunday. So I hope you all can forgive me if I don't have anything before the weekend, but keep in mind, I'll also be missing the episode that I've been waiting weeks for...my family doesn't get The-N, so I'm going to have to wait until Sunday to see it (GRRRRR!).

Anyway, I won't be leaving you on a cliffhanger like the last post but this chapter does change the tone of the story a bit...you'll see. Let me know what you think and as always, hope you ENJOY:-)

* * *

"Well, look what we have here…" 

Tommy and Jude broke apart instantly, jumping back from each other's grasp and turning to look at the person in the doorway.

"Well, well, well…I hate to toot my own horn, but just for the record, I was right all along."

"Kwest…"

"I would've thought you'd be happier to see me. I could've been Georgia. Or even worse, Darius."

Jude and Tommy smoothed out their hair and clothes, and Jude reattached her bra which was hanging off the edge of her shoulder. Both were extremely embarrassed, Tommy unable to look at Kwest and Jude's face turning a bright shade of crimson.

"So…" Kwest said, sitting down at the soundboard, watching them readjust, "how long has this little situation been going on? Wait—don't tell me. I'd say…about 2 to 3 months? Nah, maybe longer..."

Tommy looked at Jude hesitantly, not sure how much information to tell him.

Tommy started, "Ummm...yeah, about three months."

"I knew it! You two thought you were so smart, sneaking around here late at night, but I'm the smart one. I knew what you were up to the whole time."

"Yeah, you're a genius, Kwest," Tommy said bitterly, sitting down on the couch.

"And you," Kwest said, looking towards a visibly uncomfortable Jude, "those papers actually told the truth for once. You are cheating on your boyfriend."

"No, I'm not!" Jude exclaimed in her own defense. "It's complicated, but Josh and I aren't really dating."

"What? It sure looks like you're dating."

"Well, we are…but it's just for show…he knows…about this…" she stammered, looking over at Tommy who was sitting on the couch with his head between his hands.

Kwest looked confused for a minute and then his eyes opened wider in comprehension. "Wait—so, he knows? About the two of you? And he's okay with it? Why would he still date you then?"

"He's dating Sadie," Jude explained with a sigh. "He didn't want his own relationship put on public display so he agreed to be seen with me to throw everybody off."

Kwest sat still, putting the pieces of the story together in his mind. "So, you're not cheating on him?"

"No," Jude confirmed, taking the other seat by the sound board.

"And you're not cheating on Tommy?"

"No," Jude reiterated, more firmly. "Nobody's cheating on anybody. Josh and I have an agreement."

"Okay…" Kwest said, thinking everything through. "So what exactly is the arrangement you two have going? Are you just getting it on after hours or is this more?"

Tommy looked up from the couch and into Jude's worried eyes. He glanced over at Kwest's questioning face and answered, "Do you really think we'd be running this risk if it were just to get some action?"

"So then…" Kwest said, not entirely catching on.

"It's more," Tommy replied quietly. Jude revealed a small grin in hearing him say it.

Kwest nodded in understanding. "And were you planning on telling anyone or just hiding it forever?"

"What is this, twenty questions?" Tommy asked angrily, standing up and starting to pace around the room. "We're together. You're the one who told me I should do it, so I did. So don't start giving me—"

"Hold up, now," Kwest interrupted, standing up and blocking Tommy's path. "You think I'm going to criticize you? No, man, I know what I told you. And I still believe it. You two have something—you have for awhile. I just thought you were too chicken to go for it."

Tommy groaned at his words and turned around to sit back on the couch. "And if you're thinking that I'm going to run and tell Georgia, I'm not," Kwest stated. "The three of us are friends—I'm not going to say anything. But if she walks in here and sees what I just saw, it'll be your problem, not mine."

Tommy looked intently at Kwest, trying to determine if he was being completely truthful.

"Besides," Kwest said, sitting back down in his chair. "I'm just happy knowing that I was right."

"Well, congratulations," Jude said sarcastically, patting him on the back. "It really did take a musical genius to figure this out."

"Now don't get all sarcastic on me, Miss Harrison, or else you're going to be running my errands and getting my coffee from now on," Kwest threatened.

"You wouldn't…" she said.

"No, I won't. But you two better be nice to me. Don't go yelling at me like you usually do. 'Kwest, do this! Kwest, do that! Sweep the floor! Turn up the volume! Turn down the volume!' From this point forward, I better be a well-respected man around here."

"Yes, sir!" Jude said with a grin. "We'll treat you like royalty."

"Good. That's what I like to hear," he said, standing up. "Now if you don't mind, I was just coming back to grab my keys which I left here by accident. I'm going to take them and leave so you two can get back to whatever it was that I interrupted."

At that, he stood up and went towards the corner, grabbing a set of keys on the side table, and turned around to leave.

"Good night, lovebirds," he said, on his way out the door. They could hear him laughing in satisfaction all the way down the hall until the front door closed.

As he left, Tommy and Jude sat still in the uncomfortable air that settled throughout the room. Jude looked at Tommy, waiting for him to look at her or say something, but he sat rubbing his head with his eyes closed. She quietly played with the dials on the sound board, replaying the moment in her head and wondering what he was thinking. After a few minutes, she heard him sigh loudly and turned to see him get up off the couch, a troubled look on his face.

"It's late. We should head home," he said softly, distantly.

She nodded and stood up too, getting her coat and bag from the corner. After she put her coat on, she stood in the doorway watching as he turned off the sound board and grabbed his coat. She didn't budge from the doorway as he approached to leave the room. He saw the concern and unease in her eyes as he walked up to her and reached for the light switch.

"Tommy…"

"Don't," he interjected, before she could continue. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But I do. And judging by the look on your face, you're not okay with what just happened."

"I'm not okay, but I don't want to discuss it right now. I just want to go home and forget this day ever happened," he stated quickly, before flipping off the lights and squeezing between her and the wall to get out of the room. She stood in disbelief as he pushed his way around her and walked swiftly down the hallway towards the front door. As he approached the door, he turned around and saw her still standing near Studio B.

"Are you coming?" he asked coldly.

She felt a lump in her throat at his tone and hostile look in his eyes. She swallowed, not letting her emotions show, and approached him.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, trying to hold back her hurt but hearing it come through in her words.

He looked at her for a moment and then out the door towards the parking lot. "No, you didn't. I just want to get out of here. Can we please just go?"

She nodded hesitantly and passed by him and out the door. They silently got into the Viper and immediately took off, speeding towards her house to drop her off. What felt like seconds later, he pulled into her driveway, stopping to let her out. His usual warmth and reluctance to see her go was gone and in its place was coldness and irritability. She needed to get out, feeling like the car was suffocating her, so she quickly mumbled "good night" to him and took off, not giving him a moment to say the same back to her. She felt the tears cloud her eyes as she approached her front door, pulling out her keys and quickly letting herself in.


	17. Chapter 17

Hi-I'm back! First, thank you all so much for your patience and your reviews on the last chapter. I know it wasn't an easy place tostop and I didn't have time to edit this part until today, so thanks for sticking with me! Second, I just got to see Friday's episode today...OMG! That's all I have to say. There was more Tommy/Jude cuteness than I seriously thought I could handle! I started shrieking when he told her that she knew why he and Sadie weren't right together--I think I freaked out my neighbors! I'm so happy with where the show is going, even though I'll be crushed if he leaves, like the spoilers say. :-(

Anyway, back to my own Jommy saga...I wrote this chapter after I had a bad day,which might come through,so I apologize in advance. But I had a good day afterwards, so hang in there and please don't be mad at me! I've only written one or two chapters past this one so I'll try to write more this week so I can continue to post these chapters quicker. Thanks for your posts and hope you enjoy!

* * *

The next day, Jude was dreading going to the studio in case Tommy's mood swing hadn't disappeared. She actually stayed late at school to get help on her math homework, which was virtually unheard of. Jamie questioned her presence at school, to which she muttered, "I needed help on my homework. End of story." He just shrugged and waited for her to finish to take her to the studio. 

As she entered the studio, her unease at seeing Tommy grew stronger, not knowing how he was going to treat her. She figured her best approach was to act like nothing was wrong, like she had had a good day at school and was ready to work. Besides, she couldn't let whatever was bothering him affect her music.

She put on her bravest smile before entering Studio B. Both Kwest and Tommy turned to look at her as she came in, saying a quiet "hi."

"Where were you?" Tommy asked abruptly as she entered and put her stuff down. She looked at him, in disbelief at his iciness.

"At school. I needed to get help on my math homework," she explained.

"We were waiting for you," he replied, standing up with his coffee mug.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, looking into his eyes. "I lost track of time. I didn't mean to make you wait."

"Yeah, well, next time, use your cell phone. It would've saved us a lot of trouble," he mumbled before opening the door and leaving to refill the mug.

She stood speechless, mouth agape at his harshness. Kwest sat there silently, also looking stunned, as she shuffled up next to him and sat down in the chair.

"What's up his butt?" Kwest asked, seeing her wounded expression.

She shook her head, looking down at her feet. "I don't know. He's been like this since our little run-in yesterday."

"Ahhh…" Kwest said knowingly, nodding his head.

Jude said quietly, still looking down, "I just wish I knew what I did to deserve this."

"It wasn't you," Kwest assured her. "You two were in the papers the same day that I caught you together. He's probably just freaked out."

Jude timidly looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "What do I do? I mean, I've made him angry before, but I've never seen him like this."

He sighed and looked at her sympathetically. "Just give him some time. He'll come around."

At that moment, the door opened and Tommy re-entered, sipping his coffee. He took a seat next to Jude, not looking at her. They all sat there in an awkward silence until Jude stood up.

"Well, I'm going to start. Do you want to keep working on the guitar section or can we move on?"  
"We're not moving on until it's right," Tommy answered, not looking up.

Jude nodded and muttered, "Not moving on…that seems to be the theme for the day…"

With that, she grabbed her guitar and walked into the recording booth. She sat down on the stool, put on her headphones, and started strumming the guitar. She put all of her anger and frustration into each chord, each note as they stringently filled the room.

Kwest and Tommy silently sat inside the studio, listening to her heated strumming for an hour. Finally, Kwest turned towards Tommy.

"Whatever you're putting her through, you're making her fingers bleed," he muttered, as Tommy fumbled with one of the switches on the sound board, ignoring his comment. "So now I get the silent treatment?" Kwest questioned.

Tommy sighed and turned towards him. "No, I just don't want to talk about this."

"About what? Is it what I saw last night?"

"It's more than that. I don't know, I can't deal with it all right now."

"You mean, don't want to deal with it?" Kwest replied. "Listen, I don't know what's gotten into you but whatever it is, you need to find a better way to handle it. You're practically killing this girl you supposedly care so much about."

"I'm not killing anyone, stop exaggerating," Tommy responded.

"Oh really? Did you see the look on her face when you scolded her for not tuning the guitar? Or when you yelled to redo the second verse for the twentieth time? She's fighting back tears in there and it's coming out in those chords she's playing."

"So what? This isn't personal, it's work," Tommy said, immediately recognizing the dishonesty in his statement.

"Do you hear yourself?" Kwest said, standing up in annoyance. "You're the one letting your personal issues affect your work!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Tommy said, turning to look at him. Jude stopped playing, seeing Kwest stand up and yell, though not being able to hear what they were saying. Tommy heard her stop playing and looked over at her, pushing the button so his voice came into the recording booth. "Jude, can you do that part again? Your beat was a little off."

She nodded tentatively, looking at Kwest who was leaned over a chair gaining composure. Tommy released the button so his voice ended and turned back towards his friend. He heard her resume her playing, redoing the part as instructed.

"Kwest, just chill, okay? Whatever's going on, it's got nothing to do with you."

"That's where you're wrong, man," Kwest replied, sitting back down. "I work here too. Whatever happens between the two of you impacts me and now that I know what's _actually_ happening, it involves me even more."

Tommy sighed in admission that Kwest was right—his attitude towards Jude impacted all three of them.

"What I don't understand is what that girl did to make you hate her so much," Kwest muttered. Tommy glared at him with anger in his eyes. "I don't hate her. How could you even think that?"

"I don't," Kwest said. "She does. She asked me what she did to deserve this treatment from you. And I gotta ask—what did she do?"

"Nothing," Tommy said, leaning back against his chair and rubbing the back of his head. "She hasn't done anything. I'm not mad at her, I'm mad at myself."

"For what?"

"For everything. I'm supposed to be the one who knows what I'm doing here, but it was my idea to sneak off at that party two nights ago. How could I think to do that? Now she's the one stuck dealing with my stupid suggestion."

"It was a stupid suggestion, I'll give you that," Kwest agreed. "But if she can deal with it, then why can't you?"

"Because she shouldn't have to," Tommy said irritably, standing up and walking towards the back of the room. Jude's chords still echoed throughout the room but her eyes were focused on the scene before her through the glass.

"I'm supposed to protect her, but instead, I'm the one feeding her to the sharks," Tommy muttered.

"You can't protect her from everything," Kwest advised, calming down from seeing the truth behind Tommy's actions. "She's a big girl. And she agreed to this just as much as you did."

"I know, but I don't want to put her through this. Why couldn't I just wait?" he asked, pleading in his voice.

"Because if you had waited, you would've lost her altogether," Kwest reminded him, standing up and walking towards the door. "Look, I get that you're frustrated, but don't take it out on her. And if you don't apologize to her, I know someone who would love to hear what you two were really doing last night…"

Tommy looked anxiously at Kwest, who broke out into laughter. "I'm kidding. But man, this is really good leverage I now have on you."

"Great," Tommy said sarcastically, as Kwest opened the door and left to get more coffee.

He watched Jude play for a few more minutes, thinking to himself. As she started to redo the chorus for about the hundredth time, he leaned forward and pressed the button to talk to her,

"Jude, I think we got it. Do you want to come in and take a break?"

She nodded tentatively and removed her headphones. She put her guitar down and slowly walked into the studio, heading for the couch. She collapsed onto it, sighing deeply and rubbing her fingertips from the pain that was emitting._

* * *

Sorry for leaving it off there! But the next scene was too long to put in this post, so stay tuned!_


	18. Chapter 18

Hi--you guys are truly amazing for the reviews! Thank you so much! As a quick warning about this next post, I was apparently still recovering from my bad day when I wrote this, which I think you'll see. Please remember, I'm a true Jommy fan all the way! So please stick with me...I won't let you down! Also, I pulled a small line from "My Best Friend's Wedding," which I was watching while writing this. Anyway, hope you enjoy...regardless of what happens...:-)

* * *

Jude slowly walked into the studio with her hands in her pockets, heading for the couch. She collapsed onto it, sighing deeply and rubbing her fingertips from the pain that was emitting. 

Tommy took a deep breath and spun around in his chair to look at her, sitting on the couch with her eyes closed, rubbing her injured fingers. He felt a huge wave of guilt looking at her, knowing that he was the one who inflicted not just the wound on her fingers. He rolled his chair over silently in front of her and gently lifted one of her hands into his, causing her eyes to fly open and her body to tense. He looked at her fingers and started lightly massaging them, wanting to take her pain away.

She looked confusedly at him, not sure what was going on.

"Thanks," she said quietly, hesitantly.

He nodded and continued rubbing the ends of her reddened fingers. They sat in silence, Jude still looking perplexed by his actions. He sighed deeply and softly said,

"I'm like the biggest jerk ever."

She didn't budge or dare to disagree, so he continued. "Okay, bigger than the biggest jerk ever. I'm like the lowest guy to ever walk the face of the earth."

He looked to her for some sort of recognition of his statement.

She eyed him in irritation and said, "Lower."

"Okay, lower than the lowest guy to ever walk the face of the earth."

"Like scum," she added.

"Like scum," he repeated. "Scum who doesn't deserve to be talking to you, let alone ask for your forgiveness."

She shifted on the couch, not saying a word, still hurt by his behavior. He gently grabbed her other hand, holding them both in his own. "Jude, the way I treated you, how horrible I was to you, I can't believe I did that. It wasn't me, you know that."

"No, I don't," she countered, pulling her hands out from his grip. "I don't know you at all. One day, you're the sweetest guy in the world, and the next, the biggest ass."

"I know," he admitted. "I don't know what I was thinking, or wasn't thinking. I'm totally ashamed of the way I acted."

"You should be," she said decisively. "Tommy, you made me feel terrible. Like I had done something so wrong, so horrible to you. But what did I do?"

"Nothing. You didn't do anything," he said with a sigh. "No explanation is going to make my actions seem better, but I swear that this had nothing to do with you. I took out my own frustrations on you and I shouldn't have. I'm so sorry, Jude."

"Do you want to be with me?" she asked honestly, looking into his eyes.

"Of course," he answered, without any drop of hesitation in his voice.

"Then why do you push me away when things get tough?" she asked.

"Because…because…I don't know why…" he attempted to explain.

"Tommy, what happened to our whole team idea?" she said, throwing his words back at him.

"We are a team…but I just, I wish this were easier," he said, leaning back against his chair.

"And I don't?" she questioned.

He looked into her eyes, filled with hurt and disappointment, and felt embarrassed that this 17 year-old could handle stress better than he could.

"I'm not ready to give up here, but I think…maybe…" he started.

"You want to quit already?" she asked sternly.

"No, I don't. But it's your career that's on the line, Jude. I won't put it at risk anymore, even if that means taking a break for a little while."

"Taking a break?" she questioned.

"Yeah. We need to be the ones controlling this situation, not vice versa. If we can't do that, then I think maybe it's better if we take a step back."

"For how long? Another two months?"

"Maybe…or just until it's closer…" he said ambiguously.

She thought for a moment and then abruptly stood up. "Fine, if that's what you want."

"It's not what I want, but I think it's what we need to do," he contested, standing up too.

"You mean, what _you_ need to do," she spat, grabbing her coat from the corner. "Face it, Tommy, you're not ready for this. You never were. If you really wanted to be with me, you wouldn't care about any of this. You wouldn't let those papers or Kwest or anybody get between us. But instead, you'd rather treat me like crap and then run away."

"No, that's not it. That's not what I want, I swear—I want to be with you, but I can't keep putting your career on the line. Just give it two months and then everything will be better."

"Better? Oh, please. Taking a break for two months is going to turn into putting us on hold which will turn into just being friends again. So you know what? I'm just going to skip the steps and make it easier for you like you wanted. Don't worry about changing anything in two months. This little break of yours can be permanent for all I care."

"No, Jude, I don't want it to be permanent," he pleaded with her. "Please don't be mad. I'm not running away, I just don't want to mess things up over the next couple of months."

"Fine, whatever you say, Tommy," she said angrily, putting her coat on and picking up her bag. "I guess I'm no longer the one who decides anything for myself anymore."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Leaving. I suddenly don't feel so well. Tell Kwest I'm sorry I made you both wait around for me, but I had to leave," she explained crossly, before opening the door and stomping down the hall towards the exit.

"Jude, wait!" he called out as she was leaving, watching her open the front door and take off. He slammed the door to the studio, running his fingers in his hair. He knew that what he had done was ultimately the right thing to do, although he didn't intend on it being permanent. As hard as he tried, he knew that his own self-control was lost when it came to her and if he didn't change the situation fast, he was going to not only lose his relationship with her but also lose her altogether.

Jude walked out of the studio in a huff and dug her cell phone out of her pocket. Hearing her sister's voice on the other end of the line, she begged her to pick her up, wanting to avoid getting lectured by Jamie. Minutes later, the green Beetle rolled into the parking lot and Jude hurriedly got into the car. She didn't talk much or explain to her sister why Tommy couldn't drive her home, but Sadie assumed from the look on her face and exasperation in her voice that they had had some sort of argument.

At home, she sat in her room all night trying to complete her homework. She couldn't sleep or eat, she felt sickened as she replayed their conversation over and over in her head. Take a step back, going on a break, it was like all of those terms were engrained in her mind as she tossed and turned in an effort to get to sleep. She wanted to yell at him—scream that he was a hypocrite and immature and insensitive—but in the back of her mind, though she wouldn't admit it, she knew that he was doing what he thought was best. And maybe it was best. But she couldn't get the thought out of her head that he would always run whenever things got tough.

They had made it through the last three months and now, as they were moving into the final stretch, he wanted to throw in the towel. Part of her was so angry with him for wanting to be apart, but mostly, she just felt hurt that he didn't believe in them the way that she thought he did. She knew his decision was meant to be temporary, but did she really want to be with someone who wasn't going to stick around whenever they reached a bump in the road? She stayed up all night questioning the last three months she had spent with him and whether or not she had made the right decision.


	19. Chapter 19

Hi. A few quick notes to share: I wrote the next few chapters this week and I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about them...I'm not sure what happened, but I started to write, not having a sense as to where I was going, and I created this great part of the story that's coming up in the next chapter or two. Because I loved it so much, I decided to condense this chapter a bit to get to the good stuff sooner. From here on out, it looks like each chapter is going to be a little longer so I can move the story along faster. I hope no one minds!

Also, I've never done an actual shout-out to any of my reviewers, but I have to make a quick point to Erin McKinley (aka Petra). This week, she re-read and re-reviewed every chapter in The Blackout. Her comments were hysterical, particularly since she had already read everything. Thanks for all of the feedback and for entertaining me!

Ok, so without further ado, here's our next part, which jumps ahead a little in our story to about 3-4 weeks after the whole fight with Tommy. Hope you ENJOY :-)

* * *

Beginning the following day and into the next few weeks, Jude felt herself floating from place to place, her life becoming one long list of to-do's with an overwhelming sense of apathy. School, studio, home, and then back again. At each place, she did exactly what was asked of her, with little to no motivation. 

She wasn't sleeping at all and had barely eaten a complete meal. Her grades all dropped, failing four tests in four weeks, which triggered her mother's constant scolding. But she didn't care. The only thing she could do was write. She wrote hours upon hours, random phrases or lines, thoughts that kept entering her mind. She didn't share any of the music with Tommy. In his presence, she attempted to construct more upbeat chords, though all of her creations lacked any kind of heart or passion that her previous music had.

At the studio, Tommy tried to maintain his distance in an effort to make the situation any ounce easier. Conversation never went beyond the music and he couldn't help but notice the sadness in her eyes and how frail she looked. He wanted to make her understand that he wasn't giving up, that he wanted to be with her more than anything, but he didn't dare approach the subject, not wanting to risk upsetting her more.

Meanwhile, EJ had arranged for more dates with Josh in an attempt to recover the disastrous situation with Tommy. They attended movie premieres and events together, constantly trying to recreate the act that they were an item.

"Now, here's a picture I like to see," said EJ, sliding a newspaper over to Jude. She picked it up hesitantly, not knowing what to expect, and saw the picture in the middle of the "Out on the Town" section. There she was at a club with Josh dancing wildly with her eyes closed. She let out a chuckle at the picture and passed it over to Georgia, who laughed as well. Georgia then passed it over to Tommy, who glared at the picture and irritably threw the paper back on the table.

"It's good to see the two of you are back on track," Georgia said, patting Jude on the back. Jude nodded and glanced over at Tommy who was looking right at her. Their eyes met briefly, until Jude quickly turned back towards Georgia.

"So Jude, we have some news for you. Have you heard about the new club opening downtown, Glow?"

"Sure, it's been all over the papers," Jude responded.

"Well, we've booked you as their opening night gig," Georgia said with a smile.

"Opening night? As in, the night it officially opens? That's huge!" Jude exclaimed.

"I know. It's all courtesy of Darius and his industry connections," Georgia explained. "Anyway, the opening is on Friday night. I know it's last minute so you'll need to prep right away. You're going to be doing a full set—10 songs plus two encores. It's a lot, so you better get ready."

"Wow, that is a lot," Jude said distantly. "I haven't put on that big of a show since the tour."

"Exactly. So I suggest you rest up and work with Tommy to select the songs."

_Great_, Jude thought, getting up from her seat and silently following Tommy into Studio A. _I don't know what's going to be harder—getting a full night's rest or working with Tommy._

* * *

"I think Not Standing Around should go before Let Me Fall."

"Well, I don't. And I'm the producer, so I win."

"Well, I'm the artist and the one doing the performance. So you can disagree all you want, but when I get up there, I win."

"I don't think that's how your contract works, Jude."

"Really? So it says that you have free reign over everything and that I can be dropped if I don't do what you want?"

"No…not exactly…"

"Okay, good, then it's settled."

"No, it's not. Jude, this is supposed to be a joint decision, not just yours."

"Yes, I know, Tommy, but you'll just have to learn to accept disappointment."

At that, she rose from her seat and left the studio, grabbing her guitar on her way out. As she started to close the door, he shouted at her,

"Nice pictures, by the way! Good to know that you and Josh are doing well!"

She turned towards him through the glass in the door and rolled her eyes, then hastily made her way to Studio C, leaving a frustrated Tommy staring at the set list they had created.

Watching her walk off, he grabbed the pencil from the table and angrily wrote on the sheet of paper "Not Standing Around" on the line before "Let Me Fall." He got up from his seat and exited the room, heading towards Georgia's office.

"Hey," he said, approaching her desk and holding out the paper, "I just wanted to give you the set list for Friday night."

"Thanks," she said, taking it from his hand. She quickly reviewed it and put it down on the desk. "I'm assuming Jude is okay with these songs?"

"Yes, she's fine with it," he agreed, walking back towards the door.

"Tommy?" Georgia called, watching him start to leave. "Come back in. I think we need to have a quick talk."

He took a deep breath and retreated back into her office, closing the door behind him. He took a seat in the black chair in front of her desk.

"What's up?" he asked, hoping the conversation had nothing to do with a certain artist who was getting under his skin.

"It's Jude," Georgia started, noting his tensed expression at the sound of her name. "I think there's something going on with her."

"What do you mean?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"She doesn't seem like herself lately. I'm not sure if I can pinpoint it, but these last few weeks, she's just been…different. Do you know what I mean?"

He swallowed and looked at her skeptically. "No…I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"She looks drawn and exhausted. And unhappy. I'm worried about the quality of her performance on Friday."

"I wouldn't worry, G. Whatever's bothering her, I'm sure she won't let it affect her performance."

"I don't know…I've seen her sad before, but never like this," Georgia said thoughtfully. She looked over at Tommy and noticed his rapidly tapping foot and pulling at a hole in his jeans. Her suspicions grew at the sight, realizing that the conversation was, for some reason, making him uncomfortable. She slowly stood up, approaching the front of the desk and leaning against it.

"If you knew something about why Jude was looking so down, you would tell me, right?" she asked.

Tommy looked away, glancing at the pictures on her wall. "Yeah, sure," he answered distantly. He looked back at her and met her questioning gaze. "Okay, the only thing I know is that we've been arguing a lot over the past few weeks."

"About what?" Georgia asked, crossing her arms.

"Stuff," he answered vaguely. "Music stuff mainly."

"And that's it?" she asked.

"Umm…yeah…" he answered, not looking her in the eye. She knew that he was hiding something.

She sat down in the chair next to him and pulled it over so he couldn't avoid her gaze.

"Tommy, would you tell me if there was something going on between you and Jude?"

He put on his best confusion act, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if your relationship with her goes beyond the studio, would you tell me?"

"Well, we're friends…"

"That's not what I meant," she answered firmly, looking into his eyes. "Would you tell me if you two were more than friends?"

He panicked, looking into her eyes and knowing that she could read him like a book. Feeling the anxiety take over his system and the sweat start to bead at the edge of his forehead, he nervously nodded his head in agreement that he would tell her.

She leaned back in her chair and continued to look at him, clearly flustered at her question. "You know, I did get you this job to help you out, Tommy. So if you're withholding anything—"

"I'm not," he said quietly, looking down at his shoes. "I know you've helped me a lot Georgia, but this isn't something I know anything about."

She nodded hesitantly. "Okay, if you say so. But as both your friend and your boss, I'd like to think that if something were bothering you, you could come to me."

"Thanks, Georgia," he muttered quietly, standing up to leave.

She watched him exit the office, heading off faster than he entered. She smiled and walked back to her chair behind the desk, sighing and looking over the set list he had handed her.

"That boy," she mumbled to herself, "has got it bad."


	20. Chapter 20

Hi--here's the next part for you all wonderful readers out there. Thanks again for all of your great reviews--you guys seriously keep me going!

One quick note: The song in this chapter is by a small, kind of obscure band called Guster. The song is actually fairly upbeat, but I'm picturing this version to be slower. It's called "Love for Me" and I highly recommend checking the band and the song out. So I do not own Guster or the song. Or Game Boy (you'll see).

We're getting into more good stuff now, so as always...enjoy!

* * *

Standing backstage, Jude peeked through the small opening between the curtains. Her heart pounded seeing the hundreds of faces awaiting her performance. She made out Josh's face in the crowd, standing with Sadie and her mom. She took a deep breath and retreated towards the stage door, heading to her dressing room. She opened the door and saw Speed and Wally on the couch playing their Game Boys. 

"Shouldn't you guys warm up?" she asked, sitting in front of the mirror and dipping her finger into the beige makeup on the table.

"This is warming up," Speed replied, not budging or looking up from his game. "Jackpot! I got past Level 6!"

Wally smirked, "Level 6? Dude, I'm on Level 8."

"Aren't you special?" Speed questioned sarcastically. Jude dotted concealer under her eyes, trying to hide the dark circles that had become obvious from her lack of sleep.

"Dude, enough with the makeup stuff," Speed commented, glancing up to see Jude reapplying the cover-up. "You look like a ghost."

"Thanks. Nice support system I have here," she said snippily, picking up the blush and circling it on her cheeks to revive the lost color.

They all looked up at the sound of a knock on the door. They watched as Tommy entered, glancing at Jude, and then over at the guys.

"You're on in five," he announced. "Where's Kyle?"

"In the john," Speed replied, his eyes back on the Game Boy.

"It's time to get going," Tommy said, walking over to Speed's Game Boy and switching the power button off. He then made his way over to Wally and did the same. Both guys whined at the end of their game.

"Dude, I was on Level 7!" Speed called, standing up and putting the game down.

"So? You should be warming up," Tommy said, forcing them both out of the room so that he and Jude were alone. She continued fixing her hair to cover her face and eyes. He walked over and leaned against the makeup table where she was seated.

"Hey," he said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know…I'm just…worried about you, I guess."

"Don't be, I'm fine," she muttered, giving up on her makeup and standing up.

"Really?" he said, looking into her eyes.

She hesitantly nodded, not being able to speak while gazing into his eyes. She quickly looked away, "I just have to find my lucky guitar pick."

He watched her look around the room for the pick and sighed at the sight of her. She had gotten thin and wasn't looking like her usual energetic self. Glancing around, he noticed the pick on the side table. He leaned over and grabbed it, waving it at her across the room. She exhaled deeply and walked towards him, attempting to grab the pick as he pulled his hand back at the last second.

"Promise?" he asked, holding the pick out of her reach. "That you're really okay?"

She sighed and glanced up at him. She felt sad looking into his eyes, seeing the concern on his face. She knew he wanted to help her, but unless he could erase everything he had said to her weeks ago, she couldn't pull herself out of her slump.

"I'm hanging in there," she said quietly, looking back down.

"Jude, I know you don't want to talk about this, but—"

"I can't talk about this," Jude interrupted, leaning forward and grabbing the pick out of his hand. "I know you're trying to help, but talking about whatever we said to each other isn't going to do anything. It's in the past."

"But I want to help," he asserted, taking her hands.

"It's too late, Tommy."

"Jude, please—," he pleaded, as she pulled her hands from his grasp and walked towards the door.

"How much time do I have?" she asked abruptly, grabbing her guitar from the corner.

"Two minutes," he muttered, looking at his watch. She nodded and opened the door to leave, as he called out, "Jude?"

She looked back at him, waiting for a response. He stood up from the makeup table and walked towards her. "Knock 'em dead," he said with a grin. She gave him a small but satisfied smile and walked out towards the stage.

"Ladies and gentleman, we give you our very first musical performance—Jude Harrison!" The crowd went wild as Jude and the band took their places on stage and the curtains opened.

Jude played the full set, beginning with My Sweet Time. The crowd loved her, but Jude lost her energy by the third song. She barely budged from her position on-stage, and even added a couple of slow songs so she wouldn't have to move around as much. The band noticed her become sluggish, only playing a few of the chords she usually did. She grew hot under the blazing lights, feeling the sweat drip off of her. Her voice had become faint by the time she got to the second encore of 24 Hours.

Somewhere in the middle of the last chorus, her eyes met Tommy's in the back of the room, seeing his disappointment in her performance. She tried to ignore his troubled gaze, but as she gave her third bow with the band and started to head backstage, inspiration took hold of her. She walked offstage and grabbed a folding chair that was against the wall and brought it back on-stage. The crowd grew quiet as she unfolded the chair and took a seat, holding her acoustic guitar.

"This isn't exactly planned," she said nervously into the microphone, feeling the lights grow dimmer, "but in honor of the new club opening, I thought I would sing one of my new songs. It's about dreams and love…both close to my heart. It's called 'Love for Me.'"

She made eye contact with Tommy and Georgia in the back, who both looked confused and were questioning each other. Without hesitation, she started to strum on the guitar, feeling the heat of the spotlight intensify on her skin and the sound of the audience fade into a light hush.

Her trembling and quiet voice echoed through the club:

_I know there is a place  
A place where I belong  
Not mistreated or undone  
And if I find that place  
I'll keep my mouth shut  
Cause I won't be there alone  
And if you're standing there with me  
I'll swear it's a lie and I'll still believe it  
Cause I came  
And I spoke  
And you ran  
Didn't even wait to hear the words  
Or see the look in my eyes  
Cause I bled  
And you watched  
And I cried myself to sleep  
Came to wipe my tears away but you  
You couldn't look in my eyes again  
Because of the love for me  
I understand the time  
It passes so slowly  
And I can hear its laughter  
But there will come a time  
When you will ask me  
And I will join you then  
And if you're standing there with me  
I'll swear it's a lie and I'll still believe it  
Because of the love for me_

She ran her fingers over the last chord and hesitantly looked up to hear rounds of applause. She smiled timidly, feeling tears in her eyes at her own release. She gripped her guitar and weakly stood up to take a final bow, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. She then grabbed the chair and walked hastily backstage.

SME was awaiting her return at her dressing room, standing around in applause.

"Wow, that was a great song," Speed said, patting her on the back as she entered the room. She put the guitar down on the couch and stood next to the side table, leaning on it for support.

"Really great, Jude. When did you write that?" Kyle asked.

"And why didn't we know about it?" Wally chimed in. "I could've added some good bass."

"Sorry, guys…it was…sort of a spur of the moment thing…" she responded, rubbing her head.

Speed looked closely at her. "Jude, are you okay?"

She felt the heat grow stronger throughout her body and the sweat continuing to drip. Her vision suddenly became blurry and spotted as she looked up at Speed's image.

"Jude?" he asked, sounding distant to her. She closed her eyes and shook her head, indicating that she was not okay.

As she started to take a step towards the couch to sit down, suddenly, everything went black and her body hit the floor.


	21. Chapter 21

Hi -This chapter is quite possibly one of my favorites of all the stories I've written so far. It's different than a lot of the other scenes, as it's pretty emotional, but I love the way it flows...I hope you like it too. Nothing else to say, except thanks for reading and reviewing. I love you all! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Jude! Jude! Wake up!" Speed cried at her collapse, looking around in panic. "Get a doctor! Someone call 911!" 

Kyle, who looked completely shocked, nodded quickly and ran out of the dressing room, slamming the door behind him while Wally whipped out his cell phone to call in the emergency.

Speed returned to Jude's unresponsive body in front of him. He shook her slightly and continued to call out her name, his face becoming redder out of fear and desperation.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps outside the dressing room and looked up to see Georgia, EJ, Kwest, and Tommy appear in the doorway. They all stopped moving at the sound of EJ shrieking. They looked down to where Speed and Wally were crouched and saw Jude's still body on the ground.

"Oh my god…" Tommy said in a panic, pushing Georgia out of the way and rushing over to her.

"Jude! Jude! Can you hear me?" he called, leaning over to hear her breathing.

"There's a doctor on the way," Speed said hastily, moving towards Jude's feet. "And Wally called 911."

Tommy stooped over her and continued calling her name, his voice becoming more and more frantic. He brought his hands to her pale face, stroking her cheeks and trying to get her to open her eyes. But she lay motionless, lifeless, as he continued to talk to her, growing quieter from the surge of emotion at the sight of her.

Georgia, Kwest and EJ watched the scene before them in alarm, as they heard racing footsteps down the hallway. They all turned to see Kyle breathlessly enter the room, pointing at Jude on the floor. He was accompanied by an older man with glasses, along with Mrs. Harrison, Josh, and Sadie.

Victoria immediately screamed at the sight of her daughter on the ground and rushed to her side, pushing Tommy out of the way. He backed up a little, holding on to Jude's hand. The man with the glasses, who they all figured to be the doctor, rushed to her other side.

"Okay, I need everyone to back up!" he yelled, beckoning for the crowd to move towards the other side of the room, which they did. "You too," he said to Tommy and Victoria, who both hadn't budged.

Tommy hesitantly dropped Jude's hand and stood up, keeping his eyes on her and backing up towards the wall. His expression was one that none of them had ever seen, full of fear and despair, looking like he was about to break down at any moment.

Victoria sobbed loudly, standing up and stumbling towards Sadie, who was also in tears. Josh stood in shock, his jaw opened, not knowing what to say or what to do, and wrapped his arm around Sadie for support.

The doctor listened to Jude's slow breathing and pulled her eyes open to look at her pupils.

"Is she going to be okay?" Victoria called out in between hysterics. "Is my baby going to be alright?"

"Mrs. Harrison, I need you to calm down. You're not helping matters," the doctor said evenly. He was checking Jude's vital signs and pulse. "Has she been sick at all lately? Been eating normally and sleeping? Does she have any allergies?"

"No allergies that we know of," Victoria answered through a quiet sob. "And she hasn't been sick in the last two years. Everything has been perfectly normal."

"That's not true," Tommy piped in. "She hasn't been eating or sleeping."

"What?" Victoria questioned, staring at him through tears.

"Look at her! Haven't you noticed how frail she is?" he yelled. He looked down at her, visibly getting choked up. "She's not well, she hasn't been well for a few weeks," he muttered quietly. Georgia and EJ looked at each other in concern, both noting his tearful expression.

The doctor glanced over at Tommy and nodded in understanding.

"She's just been stressed, Doctor," Victoria attempted to explain.

"It's more than that," Josh muttered from behind Sadie. Everyone turned to look at him the second he spoke. "She hasn't been herself lately. Tom's right—she hasn't been eating much at all. I took her on two dates last week, she just ordered coffee on both. That's _not _Jude."

"And she's been up late at night," Sadie chimed in. "I hear her playing her guitar almost every night until 5am."

"How come you didn't tell me?" Victoria asked, eyeing Sadie in annoyance.

"Mom, isn't that your job? She's your daughter!" Sadie yelled back.

"Enough!" the doctor shouted, silencing the discussion. "Is she on any medication?"

"No," Victoria answered, crossing her arms and watching the doctor crouch directly over Jude's body. He scrutinized her face for a moment and then clapped loudly once or twice in front of her eyes. He looked back at Victoria, who was still crying, and said to her, "Come here, I need you."

She immediately rushed over to Jude's side, looking at the doctor for instructions.

"Talk to her, say something. She needs to hear familiar voices."

Victoria nodded and leaned over towards her daughter. "Jude, honey, we're here for you…you gave a great performance tonight. And even if you failed your History test last week, we love you anyway. And even though we got a call from your principal saying you were failing Physics too, it's okay. If you wake up, we won't ground you..."

"Mrs. Harrison, you need to be supportive!" the doctor hollered. "She needs to hear soothing, warm voices, not reminders of the stress she's under."

"Can I try?" Tommy asked quietly, biting his lip in an appeal to the doctor.

"Go ahead," the doctor agreed, as Tommy rushed over to Jude. Victoria backed up a bit to let Tommy in, watching him skeptically as he grabbed her hand and leaned over.

He began whispering something into her ear. No one could hear what he said to her as they all stood around in complete silence, questioning what was going on before their eyes. He gently smoothed her hair and continued whispering into her ear, tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke.

Everyone in the room was startled, seeing the one person who always was so strong and so put together, crumbling before their eyes. Georgia was especially affected, quietly crying, watching the exchange and the way that Tommy was reacting. Though her anxiety was entirely for Jude, she couldn't help being moved by his display of emotion.

As he lightly kissed her forehead and saw a few of his own tears fall against her skin, he felt a small tug on his hand. He looked down in shock at his hand and then back up to Jude's face, her eyes fluttering.

"Jude?" he asked hopefully.

The group standing around the dressing room remained motionless and silent as they all saw the edge of Jude's leg start to move ever so slowly. They all let out a gasp at the slight movement, realizing that she was coming back. Victoria was the first to rush back over towards her daughter, calling her name and crouching in back of Tommy. They looked closely at Jude, while the doctor grabbed her other hand and took her pulse again.

She slowly started to open her eyes, hearing voices above her but feeling like she couldn't move. The images in front of her were hazy as her eyes opened a little wider.

"Tommy?" she asked softly, almost in a croak.

"Yeah, girl, I'm here," he said, brushing her cheek.

"Where am I?"

"You're at Glow. In your dressing room," he answered shakily, still choked up.

"What happened?"

"You collapsed, Miss Harrison. Please don't move an inch," the doctor ordered, seeing her try to shift a little more.

"The ambulance is here," Kyle announced, seeing the paramedics rush down the hallway towards the dressing room.

"Good. Perfect timing," the doctor said, standing up to allow the paramedics in. He pulled Tommy and Victoria back as well, rattling off a list of conditions as the paramedics swooped in and started to examine Jude.

Tommy and Victoria slowly retreated, both still in tears, and taking a huge sigh of relief that their girl was going to be okay.


	22. Chapter 22

Hi - Thank you so so so much for your amazing reviews on the last chapter! Some of you said the nicest things and it really was inspiring seeing how everybody was affected by the scene. As I said, it was definitely one of my favorites, so it's comforting knowing that I'm not way off base...anyway, thanks so much. It meant a lot.

Here's the next part. I had to do some research for this chapter, so it came out a little technical, but hopefully, you'll follow it all. This is another one of my favorites--not quite as much as the last one, but it's up there. Hopefully you'll like it too! So without further ado...enjoy :-)

* * *

The lights in the hospital flickered against the stark white walls. The doctors and nurses shuffled quickly up and down the long corridors, while the high pitch ring of the phone repeatedly sounded throughout the nearly empty waiting room. 

They all sat around in silence, waiting for news from the doctor. Without hesitation, the whole group had followed the ambulance straight to the hospital. Mrs. Harrison sat in the end seat, holding a tissue and quietly continuing to cry. Sadie leaned her head against Josh, who was thoughtlessly stroking her hair and looking out the window in contemplation. Georgia was seated next to EJ, both looking reflective and tired from their long night. Darius was pacing the end of the room, holding a cup of coffee and listening to the nurses talking behind the main desk. Speed, Wally, and Kyle were sitting with their feet up playing their Game Boys. And in the back, Kwest was flipping through a magazine aimlessly, not paying attention to any of the pages, while Tommy was tapping his foot and looking down at the cracks in the tiled floor, in his own world.

Suddenly the doors burst open and Stuart and Yvette stood in the entrance.

"What happened?" he exclaimed on his way in. Sadie immediately stood up and walked over to hug him, while Victoria remained seated and subtly rolled her eyes at their arrival.

"She collapsed. We're not sure why, the doctors are examining her now," Sadie explained, noting her father's alarm. "She's conscious now, but she was out for a few minutes after she collapsed."

"Is she going to be okay?" Yvette asked.

"I don't know, we haven't heard anything," Sadie uttered solemnly.

Stuart reached over and pulled Sadie in for a tight hug. He held her close for a few moments, not knowing what to say to make the situation better.

"It was kind of scary for awhile there," Sadie mumbled, still in the embrace. "I had this brief flash of her not waking up…"

"Don't even think about that," Stuart directed, pulling away and looking at his daughter. "That's only going to make you feel worse. We need to be positive—for Jude. It sounds like she was very lucky. How did they get her to snap out of it?"

Sadie sniffed a little, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I don't know exactly…Tommy was talking to her and then all of a sudden, her eyes opened."

"He was talking to her?" Stuart questioned.

"Yeah," she explained. "The doctor asked us to talk to her so she could hear familiar voices. So Mom talked to her and then Tommy. He probably spoke to her for a minute or two before she woke up."

Stuart nodded in understanding. "Interesting," he said quietly, looking past Sadie at Tommy, who wasn't budging or recognizing their conversation. "Well, I'm glad she woke up, regardless of how it happened."

Sadie nodded in agreement and went back to her seat next to Josh. Stuart and Yvette filed in and sat down too, joining the crowd to await the doctor's return.

About an hour later, they saw the same doctor who had been at the club emerge from a set of double doors. Victoria stood up as he approached, clutching her tissue in anticipation.

"Doctor—"

"Brown. It's Doctor Brown," he clarified.

"Doctor Brown," Victoria continued, "how is she?"

The group had gotten up to crowd around the doctor, waiting on every word.

He looked down at his chart and said, "Well, she's a very lucky girl, I can tell you that much."

"Is she going to be okay?" Sadie asked, standing next to her mom.

"Yes, I think so, but it might take a little time," he started. "We're still running some tests, but at this point, it looks like there are two diagnoses."

"Two?" Victoria questioned.

"Yes. One is anemia and the other is fatigue. It's a common but critical combination."

"Anemia? What does that mean?" Josh chimed in from behind.

"It's a blood disorder that's fairly common in women. It basically means that her blood is not getting enough oxygen from her lungs to the rest of her body."

"Is it serious?" Stewart asked.

"It can be, depending on the source of it. In this case, it appears that it's an iron deficiency, which is one of the most common causes."

"And that can be treated?" Victoria questioned.

"Most likely, yes. We'll have to monitor her diet and give her an iron supplement to take daily, but in time, we should be able to get it under control. However, the anemia is actually not the diagnosis that I am most concerned about. It's the fatigue that worries me more."

"Fatigue? That just means she needs sleep, right?" EJ asked.

"Technically, yes. It means that her body is suffering from a lack of energy. However, fatigue is often a sign of something bigger, either physical or psychological."

"I don't understand…" Victoria started, looking confused.

"You see, fatigue is a symptom of many more serious diagnoses, such as thyroid disorders, lupus, or mononucleosis. Or it could be a sign of more serious psychological issues, like depression."

"Jude is not depressed, Doctor Brown," Victoria replied defensively.

"With all do respect, Mrs. Harrison, I wouldn't be so certain," Dr. Brown responded, closing his chart and looking up at her. "Anemia does tend to cause fatigue, but as I recall, someone had mentioned that she hadn't been eating or sleeping. If that is true, I believe there might be a psychological element to the diagnosis as well."

Everyone looked around at each other in dismay, trying to comprehend what the doctor was saying. No one spoke, just thought about his opinion.

"Can I see her?" Victoria asked quietly.

"Yes, but I must warn you that she is a little drowsy. When she collapsed, it appears that she bumped her head on the ground, which is why she was knocked out. So we have her on some mild pain medication to relieve her headache. Alongside the exhaustion and the anemia, I'd say this girl has had quite a night. Please try to keep her calm and not upset her."

Victoria nodded as Doctor Brown added, "And we're going to keep her here to run more tests. I want to make sure we can rule out those more serious physical disorders. And I want her to talk to psych in the morning."

"Alright," Victoria agreed quietly. She and Sadie quietly stepped away from the group and followed the doctor down the hallway, through the double doors.

Jude heard the door open and footsteps approach, groggily opening her eyes to only see the white of the walls and the bright lights.

"Jude?"

She squinted her eyes to make out the figures in front of her. "Mom?"

"Yes, honey, we're here," Victoria said, approaching the bed. "Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital," Jude replied, gazing around at her room.

"How do you feel?" Sadie asked.

Jude sighed and brought her eyes back on her sister and mom. "Tired."

"Okay, well, we'll make this quick then," her mom said.

"Is it just you two here?" Jude asked softly, rubbing her eyes to see them clearer.

"No, you've got a whole pep rally out there," Victoria said. "G-Major, family, friends, they're all out there."

Jude nodded, closing her eyes to picture the moment she had woken up on the floor of the club. Victoria and Sadie both watched her, thinking she was falling asleep, but her eyes fluttered back open and she quietly asked, "Is Tommy here?"

Sadie nodded and replied, "Yes, he's here. Do you want him to come in?"

Jude shook her head. "No. I don't want him to see me like this."

"Jude, I don't think he'll care—" Sadie started.

"Can you just give him a message for me?" Jude asked, to which Sadie nodded uncertainly. "Can you tell him I say thank you?"

Victoria shot a suspicious look at Sadie, to which she shrugged and turned back towards Jude. "Just thank you?"

"Yeah," Jude answered. "Thank you and I'll see him tomorrow."

"Okay," Sadie agreed, standing up from Jude's bedside and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I guess we'll all see you tomorrow then?"

"Sure," Jude said, settling into the bed and feeling her mom kiss her too.

"Good night, sweetie. We'll be here when you wake up," Victoria said, turning the light off above the bed. By the time they got to the door, they heard Jude's breathing become heavier and knew that she had already fallen asleep.


	23. Chapter 23

Hi again! Thanks for all of your reviews on the last chapter--this whole part with Jude and the hospital is still continuing to be my favorite, so I'm glad you all seem to like it too. And don't worry, we're getting to the thing you all want to know - What did Tommy say to her to wake her up? You'll find out soon enough, I promise:-)

I hope you don't mind, but this chapter is kind of long...it was easier to post it all together than split it in half. So enough of my rambling and here's the next part...hope you ENJOY!

* * *

As they walked out of Jude's hospital room, Sadie and her mom made their way down the long corridor back to the waiting room. They walked silently for a few moments until Victoria asked, 

"What was that all about?"

Sadie knew that she was questioning Jude's message to Tommy. "I have no idea…"

They continued walking, resuming their silence, and pushed open the double doors to see the crowd eagerly awaiting their return.

"She's asleep," Victoria announced as they entered the waiting room.

"How did she look?" Stuart asked.

"Tired," Sadie said quietly.

"She was drowsy so it was hard to tell," Victoria added.

"Did you talk to her?" Josh questioned.

"Yes, a little…" Victoria answered, sitting down with the rest of the group. As she began to recount their visit, Sadie walked over to where Tommy was seated. He had remained in the chair in the back of the room, not budging when Victoria and Sadie entered. Kwest and SME had moved to hear Victoria, so they were a few feet within anyone's ear. He was staring off into outer space as Sadie approached.

"Hey," she said, sitting down. "You okay?" she asked, noting his thoughtful and troubled appearance.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

She scrutinized his expression and knew instantly that he was lying. "You better not be blaming yourself…I shouldn't have to tell you that it's not your fault she's here."

"Why not?" he said, his eyes darting to meet hers angrily. "It _is _my fault."

"No, it's not," she said firmly. "You heard the doctor. She's anemic—that's not something anybody had control over. And even if there's something more going on that lead to the exhaustion, your fall-out with her definitely wasn't the only factor."

He groaned and leaned back in his chair. "I should've known…I could've helped…"

"Would've, could've, should've," Sadie said dismissively. "It's in the past, Tommy. None of it matters now." He sat still, considering her words. She continued, "You need to get over this and be positive for Jude. It's not about any of us, it's about making sure she gets better."

He nodded uncertainly. "How do we do that?"

"Well, I think you probably know better than any of us," Sadie responded.

He looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She sighed and turned towards him, speaking quietly. "I have a message for you."

"A message?"

"From Jude," she stated. Tommy's eyes widened to focus his full attention on her words.

"What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"It was simple: She said to tell you thank you. Thank you and she'll see you tomorrow."

He closed his eyes and slumped back into his chair in thought, rubbing his forehead. Sadie watched him in puzzlement, trying to figure out his reaction. "Does that mean something to you?"

"Yeah," he muttered, barely audible. When he opened his eyes, Sadie could see his eyes glaze over in emotion. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat looking at him. She leaned over closer to him and whispered, "What did you say to her?"

He grinned at her question, remembering his words that triggered Jude's revival. He softly replied, "What I thought she needed to hear."

"What does that mean?" she asked, still trying to understand Jude's encrypted message.

He gave her an amused look, "I'll let you figure it out for yourself."

"Oh, come on," she prodded. "Tell me. I won't say anything. And then maybe I can say something similar to make her feel better."

He grinned again at her and said softly, "Well, I can tell you that whatever I said, it would definitely sound pretty funny coming from you."

She sighed in defeat, knowing she wasn't going to get the details out of him. He smiled at her frustrated reaction, his mood becoming a little more hopeful. He sat thinking for a few moments about the message. "So she wants to see me tomorrow?"

Sadie nodded. "Yeah—you and your mysterious healing powers."

Just then, Victoria approached them.

"You two should head home. Steven just arrived, so we're going to stay here with your father and Yvette, but there's no need for anyone else."

"You're going to sleep in the waiting room?" Sadie questioned, looking around at the blue chairs.

Victoria nodded. "It'll only be one night. And I promised her I'd be here when she woke up."

"Then I'm staying too," Sadie declared.

"No, Sadie, you should go home. You're not going to get any rest here."

"I don't care, Mom. She's my sister. I want to be here too."

Victoria didn't bother arguing. The rest of the group started to say their goodnights, all promising to return the following day. As Kwest came over to give Sadie a hug goodnight, he looked at Tommy still seated next to her.

"Are you coming, T?" he asked.

Tommy looked around the room thoughtfully. "Nah, I think I'm going to stay too."

"You are?" Sadie asked. "You're not going to get much sleep."

"I know, but I wouldn't get any sleep at home either," he responded, turning back to Kwest. "I'm staying."

"Okay," Kwest said hesitantly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

They both nodded and watched as he left the waiting room, exiting through the double doors. The only people left were Victoria and Steven, Stuart and Yvette, Sadie and Josh, who had also opted to stay—half for Sadie and half for Jude—and Tommy. They all spread out and turned chairs together to create more comfortable sleeping arrangements. Tommy sat still in his chair and watched as everyone else dozed off to sleep. He couldn't begin to sleep—his mind was working overtime as he thought about seeing Jude the next day.

The neon lights shone from the hallway into Jude's cubicle of a hospital room. She slowly opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She noticed a few bouquets of flowers, giving the room some color. She exhaled deeply as the realization of her previous night settled in: the concert, the encore, feeling dizzy in the dressing room, waking up to hear Tommy's voice, and then the hospital.

She looked up at the sound of the door opening and a nurse walking in.

"Good morning," the nurse said, looking at the monitor next to her bed.

"What time is it?" Jude asked sleepily.

"About 7:00. Looks like your vitals are back to normal—that's good," she said, holding her wrist and taking her pulse. "How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess," Jude answered quietly.

Jude adjusted to sit up, as she heard a knock on the door and her mom waiting in the doorway.

"Hi, honey. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, thanks."

"Are you meeting with the doctor this morning?"

The nurse, who finished filling in the chart, answered Victoria's question. "The doctor will be here in about an hour. And she has a meeting with psych at 9:00."

"Woohoo," Jude said sarcastically as the nurse left the room. The doctor had informed her the night before of her diagnoses and the possible psychological causes. Though she was on medication at the time, she understood everything they had explained.

"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" Victoria questioned.

"No, I'm fine," Jude answered.

"Jude, you scared me last night. I know I haven't been around very much, but you could've come to me if you were having problems," her mom said, sitting beside her.

"I thought I could handle it," Jude said shamefully, looking down.

"Jude, you might be queen of all rock stars, but you're still young. You can't solve all of your problems on your own," she said, grabbing her daughter's hand.

Jude nodded and looked at her mom. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I know, honey," Victoria said, leaning in and hugging her. "It's okay."

Jude hugged her mom tightly, genuinely feeling guilty about what she had put her through the night before, as they heard another knock on the door. She broke away from her mom and looked at the figure in the doorway.

"Tommy," she said, surprised to see him.

"I can come back," he said quickly. He was holding a vase filled with daisies.

Victoria turned around and saw the flowers. She stood up beside Jude's bed and gave her a kiss on her head. "It's okay, Tommy, I was just leaving to get coffee."

"Are you sure? I really can come back," he repeated anxiously.

"I'm positive," Victoria said, walking towards the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

At that, she left and closed the door behind her. Tommy stood still, biting his lip in nervousness, and looking across the room at Jude, who felt her nerves flutter as her eyes focused on his.


	24. Chapter 24

Hi--I'm sorry for making you all wait a little longer than usual for this post. I had it basically ready to go but have been so crazy this week, I haven't had a moment to sit down and review it. So here it is, finally!

I have to say, in honor of the last episode of this IS season airing tomorrow, that I'm actually very sad to see it go. It's been a great couple of months with new episodes...I do, however, hope to be inspired enough by the finale to write more fanfics until it returns! Last week's episode was AMAZING and quite possibly inspiring enough to last me another year if necessary, but I'm hoping for more...a little more Tommy/Jude cuteness is all I'm asking for! And not too much heartbreak :-)

Thanks again for all of your great feedback. I love some of your comments about wanting to know what Tommy said...don't worry, we're getting very close! So I hope you enjoy (as much as I've enjoyed watching this season!).

* * *

Tommy stood in the doorway to her hospital room, hearing the door close behind him but not moving. He held the vase of daisies close to him and looked into Jude's tired eyes across the room. She nervously sat up straight, unconsciously running her fingers through her hair to make herself look more presentable. 

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hi," she returned. She could hear the jumpiness in her own voice, clearing her throat to relax. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure," he said, slowly walking towards her. As he approached, he looked closer at her. He saw her pale and drawn complexion, but through the weariness, he saw the spark that was still in her eyes. He grinned as he got to her side, happy to see a sign of life greeting him.

"What?" she asked, seeing a smile break out from his lips.

He paused for a moment, seeing her small smile appear from his reaction. "Nothing. It's just really good to see you."

"Thanks. It's good to see you too," she said softly, blushing. "You'll have to excuse the drab attire. I know it's not my usual rock chick look." They both looked at her green hospital gown.

"Green is your color," he commented.

"I suppose, but this isn't really green…it's more like putrid…"

"Or a giant avocado."

"I like avocados," she said with a wider smile.

He smiled too and then looked at the vase of flowers still in his hand. "Oh, sorry, these are for you." He gently placed them on the table next to her bed and pulled out one to hand to her.

She took the single daisy and said, "Thanks. I love daisies."

"I know," he said. "I vaguely remembered you saying that daisies are your favorites."

"They are," she agreed.

"Well, I figured you could use some cheerfulness in this room," he said, glancing around.

"Thanks," she repeated softly, smiling up at him.

"How are you doing?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Okay, I guess," she responded. "Tired. But the doctor says it'll take some time until I feel 100 percent again."

He nodded, listening. "Do they have you taking anything?"

"Some iron pills for the anemia. And some Tylenol for my headache from falling and hitting my head, which apparently was what knocked me out."

"Yeah, I heard. Does it still hurt?"

"A little. I have a bump actually," she said, reaching behind her head for the small lump. She leaned her head towards him so he could feel it too. He timidly brought his hand to her head, lightly feeling the bump. "Do you feel it?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do," he said, as she returned to her previous position and he brought his hand back to his lap. They sat there in silence, uncertain as to what to say to each other. He wanted to lean over and hug her tight enough to cut off her circulation but resisted the urge, worried about saying or doing the wrong thing. She looked at him, biting her lip and trying to come up with a good way to say what she wanted to.

"Tommy…" she started.

"I got your message," he said suddenly. "From last night—Sadie told me."

"Oh, good," she replied, hearing the nervousness come back to her voice. "I hope you didn't mind that I didn't tell you myself."

"No, I totally understood," he said quickly. "You didn't need to thank me."

"What do you mean? Yes, I did," she responded in genuine confusion.

"No, you didn't. I mean, I appreciate it, but it wasn't necessary."

"How can you say that?" she questioned. "Tommy, without you, I wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"Yeah, well, without me, you would've been healthy and wouldn't need to be here," he muttered, looking down.

"Tommy," she started, seeing his sheepish expression and scooting a little closer to him on the bed. "This wasn't your fault."

"How can you say that?" he asked with desperation, avoiding her gaze. "I _was_ the cause of all of this. If I hadn't been so selfish, I wouldn't have pushed you away and hurt you. You would still be okay."

She looked at him disbelievingly. "Is that really what you think? That you were the single cause of all of this? Tommy, there was a lot more going on in my life than just you. Yes, you upset me. A lot. But so did my mom when she yelled at me every ten seconds about my grades. And so did EJ when she got mad at me for not going out around the city more with Josh. And so did Darius when he told me I hadn't created a hit single in over two months. I was a disappointment to everybody, including you."

He instantly looked up into her eyes and said, "You were never a disappointment to me. I was the disappointment to you."

"You hurt me, Tommy, but you only disappointed me when it sounded like you wanted to give up."

He gently took her hands in his, looked into her eyes and carefully said, "I never wanted to hurt you, Jude. And I never, ever wanted to give up. I thought that taking a break would make things easier, but it just made it all harder. I wanted to apologize for everything, to get you back, but I thought I would just upset you more and I couldn't handle that."

She nodded in understanding and thought for a moment. "I know you did what you thought was best, even if it hurt," she said slowly. "The truth is, you did have something to do with me being here, but it's more my own fault for not being able to handle everything."

"Are you kidding? You did handle it," he reminded her, holding her hands tighter. "The press, Kwest, Josh—Jude, you were more composed and in control of our situation than I was."

"Maybe," she said quietly. "But I let it all get to me. And not having you there made it worse. You were always there for me and then suddenly, you let go. I guess…I just missed you," she said, feeling the tears start to slowly glaze over her eyes. He looked into her tearful eyes and felt his own emotions start to surface.

"I missed you too," he said faintly. She saw his reaction and could hear the sincerity in his words. She instantly threw her arms around his neck, grasping for him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and felt him immediately envelop her in his arms. He embraced her eagerly and felt her small frame through the thin hospital gown. He brought one hand against the back of her neck, keeping her as close as possible. He could hear her sniffling against his shoulder, her tears running into his shirt.

After a minute or two, she pulled back to rest her head against his, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She could hear him sniffling quietly too, as he started delicately rubbing her cheeks, trying to wipe away her tears.

"I love you, Jude," he said softly. "And I'm so sorry for everything I put you through."

"It's okay," she whispered. "I love you too." She felt him bring her face to his to delicately kiss her. She draped her arms around him, keeping her lips steadily on his. They didn't care at that moment if all the paparazzi in the world walked into that hospital room—they were completely absorbed in each other, longing to feel their connection again.

"I've never been that scared in my life, seeing you like that in the dressing room," he muttered quietly, breaking the kiss and pulling back a bit. "I went into panic mode."

"Well, whatever you did, it worked," she replied, pulling back further and looking up into his eyes.

"Do you remember any of it?" he asked curiously.

"Honestly," she said, "I remember hearing your voice and feeling you touching me, but the words seemed to blend together."

She watched as he nodded understandingly, so she added, "So…what exactly did you say to me?"

* * *

_I really am sorry to leave you hanging there, but we haven't had a good cliffhanger in awhile :-)_


	25. Chapter 25

Hi--so what did everybody think of the finale? I have to say that I was a little disappointed in it. I love Tommy and the way he said goodbye to Jude was so cold...I just hope he has a good reason! That little girl was cute, but she better not be his daughter! But their little scene at the beginning when he asked her to dinner is what I'm trying to focus on. That was the Tommy/Jude cuteness I was looking for. And in my mind, I'm trying to just remember White Lines and how cute that episode was last week...that was enough to keep me going!

Ok, enough rambling, sorry...here's the part you've all been asking for. I really hope I do it justice--I'm actually really nervous that it's not going to live up to your expectations. This chapter is semi-fluff, but you know how much I love the fluff :-) So enjoy!

* * *

"So…what exactly did you say to me?" 

Tommy automatically grinned a little. "You really want to know?"

"Yeah," Jude said earnestly.

He looked at her and continued to smile, seeing her impatience. "Nah, you wouldn't want to hear it…"

"Yes, I do!" she exclaimed, pushing his arm playfully.

He grabbed her hands and held them in his own. "It was simple. I said the only thing I could think about at the time."

"Which was…" she prodded, trying to get him to come clean.

He sighed and looked into her eyes warmly. "I told you how much you mean to me."

"Really?" she asked, feeling a lump form in her throat.

"Yeah," he admitted quietly. "That's all I kept thinking about seeing you like that. So I said everything I was thinking—everything I was feeling. I told you how important you are to me and how much I need you in my life. And how much I love you."

"Ohhh…" she murmured, clearly touched.

"And that you're pretty much the best thing that's ever happened to me. That was all."

"That was all?" she questioned with a smile, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Tommy, that's the sweetest, most incredible thing anybody's ever said to me. I wish I wasn't unconscious when you said it!"

He laughed, seeing her mixed reaction of tears and happiness. She laughed too, thinking about what he had told her.

"Wait—didn't you say all of that in front of everybody? My mom, Georgia, SME…didn't they all hear you?" she questioned, counting all of the people she remembered standing around.

"Nope," he answered with a grin. "They were there, but I whispered everything to you so no one heard."

"Ohhh," she replied in relief. "Was that weird? Did they all get suspicious?"

"Maybe, but I didn't really care," he answered truthfully.

Jude gave him a small smile, reflecting on everything he had told her.

"Is all of that true?" she asked timidly. "Everything you said?"

He looked at her closely and replied, "Of course. You think I'd lie to you when you're unconscious on the floor?"

She grinned and looked down at their hands, still intertwined. "I just…I didn't know all of that."

He slipped one hand out of their grasp and gently brushed her cheek. "It's all true. And I'm glad you got to hear it when you were awake." She smiled faintly, letting his words sink in. "I'm not ready to lose you, Jude. I wasn't when you were lying on the floor and I'm not now either."

She looked into his eyes affectionately, the tears still trickling down her cheeks, as he slowly leaned forward to meet her lips. She edged in too and felt his lips against hers. He brought both hands up to her cheeks and she held onto the edges of his shirt, feeling him deepen the kiss with his tongue. She met his intensity and moved her hands onto his waist to hold on tighter. They both melted into each other, overcome by emotion and missing the feel of each other.

As they pulled apart from the kiss, they immediately fell into an embrace, Jude shifting closer to him to rest her head on his shoulder. He soothingly weaved his fingers through her hair, feeling her light breathing against him.

"Will you let me help you?" he asked softly.

She sighed deeply and stayed against him. "I'm not sure how."

"We'll figure it out together then," he said, still brushing her hair. "Is that okay?"

She paused for a minute, thinking about his offer. "Yeah, I guess that's okay."

He smiled at her response and held her a little tighter.

"Jude, there's something else we need to talk about—"

Suddenly, the door opened and they both sat up abruptly.

"Sorry, are we interrupting?" Sadie asked, standing in the doorway with Josh.

"Ummm…" Jude answered hesitantly, knowing that Tommy had something more to say.

"No, it's fine. Come on in," Tommy answered. "We'll finish talking later," he whispered to her, as they watched Sadie and Josh approach the bed. Jude nodded and sat further back on the bed, separating herself from Tommy but continuing to hold his hand.

"How are you feeling?" Sadie asked.

"Better, thanks," Jude answered.

"Are you hungry?" Josh asked, holding up a paper bag. "I smuggled some bagels in from the outside."

"Thanks, but I'm okay," Jude answered, as Sadie and Josh approached the bed. "So, I guess this will be the last performance of mine you'll ever come to," she said to Josh, watching him pull a blueberry bagel out of the bag.

"Are you kidding? The show was great, Jude," he said, shoving a piece of it in his mouth. "Granted, it would've been better without the whole passing out thing afterwards, but I really liked the rest of it."

"Thanks," she said with a grin.

"And I loved that song you did at the end for your encore," Josh added.

"Yeah, where did that come from?" Tommy asked, forgetting about the performance part of the evening.

Jude smiled a little and reflected on her song. "What do you think I've been doing with all of those extra hours from not sleeping?"

He grinned back at her and squeezed her hand a little tighter as the door opened again. Her mom stood in the doorway along with the whole crowd from G-Major, all holding flowers.

"Wow," Jude said, looking at everyone in the doorway.

"I've brought some people who wanted to see you," her mom said, as they all entered the room and crowded around her. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's good to see you all," Jude said, looking at her band, Georgia, EJ, Darius, Kwest, her dad and Yvette.

"It's good to see you, too," Georgia said. "We were really worried about you, Jude."

"I know. I'm sorry for making you all worry."

"Don't be. We're just glad you're okay," her dad said.

The group stayed in her room for another half hour until the doctor came in and kicked them all out. Her mom stayed with Jude as the doctor began his exam. The rest of the group shuffled down the corridor back towards the waiting room. Tommy walked alongside Georgia, his smile subconsciously plastered across his face.

"Happy to have your girl back?" Georgia asked, noting his cheerful expression.

"Definitely," Tommy answered. "She nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I know," Georgia replied, remembering his reaction to her collapse. "It was scary seeing her like that. I sensed there was something going on with her, but I didn't realize it was so bad."

"None of us did," Tommy muttered, his happiness suddenly being replaced by guilt. Even though Jude had accepted his apology and didn't blame him, he couldn't help but feel like he had been the cause of her breakdown.

As they made their way through the double doors to enter the waiting room, Georgia saw his expression turn downward and nudged him to lighten his spirit. "You know, it's a good thing you were there."

"Yeah, I guess," Tommy answered ambiguously, watching the rest of the group spread out amongst the chairs.

"She's a lucky girl to have a friend like you," Georgia said with a knowing grin, giving him a quick wink before walking over to join the rest of the group. Tommy watched her deliberate actions and smiled to himself, remembering that he could never get anything past Georgia.


	26. Chapter 26

Hi y'all. Nothing big to note for this one, just want to send a quick thanks to everybody for still reviewing. These stories of mine seem to go on forever (I'm way too wordy and way too into the fluff) and I still have a bunch of ideas brewing for this one, so I hope no one is bored! But anyway, thanks so much for all of your feedback and reviews--you guys are the best!

So here's another chapter--half with fluff and half getting into what's next after the hospital. Keep letting me know what you think, I love to hear from you! And as always, hope you enjoy!

* * *

"All of her tests came back negative," Dr. Brown confirmed, closing his clipboard. "That's the good news." 

"So there's bad news?" Jude asked, as he listened to her breathing through his stethoscope.

"Not necessarily," he said, removing the stethoscope from his ears. "Psych wrote up a full evaluation after your meeting this morning. They'd like you to come back to follow up."

"Come back?" Jude asked nervously.

"Does that mean she can go home?" Victoria asked, standing on the opposite side of the bed.

"We need to fill out some paperwork and monitor her vitals for the rest of the day, but assuming everything is normal, I think she can go home tonight. And yes," he said, turning towards Jude, "you will need to come back. But just as an outpatient. No need to stay overnight."

"Great, I'm officially looney," Jude mumbled.

"Doctor Brown, does she need any medication or special instructions once we take her home?" Victoria asked.

"I'm going to give her some iron supplements that she needs to take daily, but perhaps my strongest prescription will be rest. And nutrition. You need to maintain a proper diet and make sure to take it easy for awhile, Jude."

"Take it easy? My album is overdue! I still have to record the last two songs!" she exclaimed.

"Jude! The studio will have to understand," her mom said. "I'm going to want you to come straight home after school. No studio."

"Mrs. Harrison," the doctor interjected, "I'm afraid she's going to need some time off from school as well."

"Really?" both Victoria and Jude asked simultaneously, Victoria with concern in her voice while Jude's echoed enthusiasm.

"Doctor," Victoria said, stepping around to his side of the bed and speaking quietly, "Jude is already failing a number of her classes. I don't think it's wise to pull her out of school at this point."

"Mrs. Harrison, if you care about your daughter's well-being, then I suggest you figure out another way to get her up to speed," Doctor Brown advised, nodding at Jude who was listening to their conversation. "There are tutors for this sort of thing. I can only say that for now, she needs a stress-free environment to ensure she can fully regain her energy."

Victoria nodded skeptically, considering the idea of a tutor, while Jude remained particularly quiet. Doctor Brown turned towards her and said, "You can set up another few appointments with psych before you leave."

"Few? Am I really that screwed up?" Jude asked in a panic.

"Jude, over the last month, you have been starving yourself and denying yourself of much needed rest. You should consider yourself lucky for not causing more harm. Meeting with psych is for your own good," the doctor advised, turning to walk towards the door. "And I'll want to schedule a follow-up appointment myself to monitor your physical state. I'll be back in a little while with the paperwork," he said, exiting the room.

Breaking the few moments of silence, her mom said, "I'm going to schedule the follow up appointments for you with the receptionist. I'll be back."

Her mom quickly exited the room too, leaving Jude alone. She thought about her conversation with the therapist earlier in the day. She had attempted to make everything in her life sound peachy—maybe too peachy. She thought that she had been convincing, but clearly, the therapist didn't buy the happy-go-lucky act that she was portraying. Maybe she could've been more honest about the past month, but she just wanted to solve her issues on her own. Besides, she and Tommy were back on track and the world seemed right again. He was going to be there for her, so wasn't that enough? Or was there more to it? Could she really have been depressed? Was she still depressed? She found herself dozing off, feeling the stress of another meeting with the therapist sink in.

She slowly opened her eyes, having no clue as to how long she had slept. She took a deep breath and gazed around the room, her eyes stopping on the figure seated in the chair next to her. She grinned at Tommy hunched over in the chair, eyes closed, breathing deeply. She watched him for a few moments until she heard the loud growl of her stomach echo throughout the room. Her hands immediately went to her stomach, wanting to silence it and not wake him up, but his eyes started fluttering as he shifted in the chair.

"Hungry?" he asked drowsily, his eyes not fully open.

"Maybe," she admitted quietly. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her, holding her stomach and grinning. He couldn't help but smile at her, stretching out his arms and legs.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," she said.

"It's okay," he replied, moving his chair closer to the bed.

"How long have you been in here?" Jude asked.

He looked at his watch and thought for a moment. "About an hour and a half."

"I've been asleep for an hour and a half?" she questioned.

"More than that. When I came in, you were totally out. But you needed the rest, Jude. And apparently, some food."

She smiled and looked down at her stomch. "Did Josh leave that bag of bagels?"

"Why yes, I believe he did," Tommy said, standing up and grabbing a paper bag from the corner of the room. He opened it up and handed her a sesame bagel, her favorite.

"Thanks," she said, tearing off a small piece of it and putting it in her mouth. "Did you hear I'm going AWOL?"

"I did," he said, grabbing a plain bagel and chewing on it. "Are you happy to get out of here?"

"I guess," she said hesitantly. He looked at her questioningly as she sighed. "I don't know. The doctor told me I need to rest. No school and no studio."

He nodded, listening to her. "Is that a bad thing?"

"I wanted to finish the album," she said unhappily.

He put the bagel down and leaned on the edge of her bed. "The album can wait, Jude. And just because you'll be resting doesn't mean you can't keep writing."

"True," she said, thinking it over. She put another piece of the bagel in her mouth thoughtfully. "I hope Darius and Georgia aren't going to be mad."

"They won't," he reassured her. "And if they are, they can take it out on me. I'm not letting you back in that studio until you're better."

"Oh really?" she said with a smile.

"Yes, really," he said, smiling back, but his words sounding firm. "I don't want to ever wind up back in this hospital room or on the dressing room floor again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," she replied mockingly.

They sat in silence eating their bagels. Tommy looked thoughtful and then put the bagel down on the table next to them.

"So there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, right. What we were going to talk about before," she recalled, putting her own bagel down.

"Jude, you know I would never intentionally do anything to make things worse for us. And this whole situation has really got me thinking, not just about the next month until you turn 18, but about how we're going to handle everything after that."

"Okay…" she said, awaiting more explanation.

"I don't want things to get harder then, so I think we need to do something sort of drastic now."

"Drastic? What kind of drastic?" she questioned, her voice indicating panic.

He took a deep breath and held her hands tightly, looking into her eyes. "I think we should tell Georgia."


	27. Chapter 27

Hi. I'm back after an exhausting and stressful week...and on top of it all, it really hit me today that we have to wait for so long to watch new IS episodes! That made me sad--I always look forward to IS at the end of a long week, but this week, no such luck. Grr..oh well, thank goodness for fanfics!

Anyway, your reviews on the last chapter were great! Some of you were happy that Tommy wants to tell Georgia and others were skeptical...I totally understand both. When I originally thought of the idea, I didn't know how I felt about it either, but there's some explanation in this next post to explain why it might be a good idea. Definitely let me know what you think after you read it. I'd love to hear if you're convinced or not.

Also, I'm heading away for the weekend but am fortunately "working from home" (AKA sitting in front of the TV with my laptop) on Monday, so you can expect the next post then, assuming all goes according to plan. So here goes...let me know what you think and ENJOY!

* * *

"I think we should tell Geogia," Tommy said quietly, holding her hands tightly in his own. 

"What? Why?" Jude questioned, a mix of confusion and alarm in her voice.

"Because I think it'll make it easier for us in the long run," he explained.

She pulled her hands back from his and sat up straighter, her heart starting to pound at the thought of telling Georgia about their relationship.

He saw her face overwhelm in anxiety and felt her hands slip away. "Jude, I've thought a lot about this. Just hear me out before you say no."

"I can't wait to hear this, Quincy. You've got to be totally crazy if you think I'm going to agree to it."

"Just listen," he instructed calmly, trying to avoid upsetting her. "I'm not going to do anything unless we _both_ agree to it, so if you hear my rationale and still don't want to do it, then we won't."

"Okay, I'm listening," she agreed sternly.

He took a deep breath before beginning. "We've gone for the past four months lying to everyone. And I'm not saying that it wasn't worth it—it was—but it hasn't been easy. And to think that suddenly all of our problems are going to disappear once you turn eighteen next month is unrealistic. The studio especially is going to have a major problem with it—you know that. They're not going to want us working together knowing that we're together."

"Right, so how is telling Georgia now going to help that? Wouldn't that make it worse?" she asked.

"Maybe, but maybe not. The thing is that Georgia already suspects something. Last week, she pulled me into her office and directly asked me if you and I are more than producer and artist."

"Really? What did you say?"

"I denied it. I said that we're friends and that's it. But you should've seen her, Jude—she didn't believe a word I said. And the worst part was that the whole time I was in her office, I kept thinking about how much she's done for me and how horrible I felt about lying to her."

"Both of us," Jude agreed, thinking about Georgia's presence in her own life. "She's done amazing things for me too."

"I know. She's been a huge part of both our lives. I mean, she's the reason we met in the first place, right? So why not give her the respect she deserves and just be honest with her?"

"But Tommy," Jude interrupted, "have you seriously considered what would happen if we told her? What makes you think that she wouldn't fire us on the spot?"

"She might. But I think it could be worse for us later on. What if she walks in on us like Kwest did? Then what?"

Jude sat further back on the bed, considering his words. "That would be terrible," she muttered.

"I know. And it could've been her that night, not Kwest. We would've been stuck not only explaining everything but also telling her that we had been lying to her all along."

"I don't understand, though. Why not just wait and tell her next month when I'm eighteen?" Jude asked.

"Because then we're treating her like she's just another person we didn't trust enough to talk to in the first place. And all of that respect and loyalty that we should've had for her didn't mean anything." He watched her look down at her hands contemplatively. "Jude, unless you want to keep this a secret forever, we're going to need to tell people eventually. Why not start at the top and get it over with? If Georgia is okay with it, then maybe everyone else will be too."

"But what if she runs to tell my parents?"

"Georgia wouldn't do that. You know she'd never betray our trust like that."

"I don't know…even if she doesn't kick us out of the studio, she could still separate us. I don't want to work with another producer."

"I know—I don't want that either—but we're going to run that risk when we tell people next month anyway."

"Why can't we just keep it quiet? We've been doing okay so far," Jude said hesitantly, knowing that wasn't entirely true.

"Jude, I really don't think it's a good idea to keep it hidden any longer than we need to. This secret of ours has already caused enough strain over the past few months, but after the last 24 hours and seeing you collapse, I can't bring myself to add more stress to your life than I already do."

She grinned at his comment. "You'll always stress me out, Quincy."

"Thanks," he said with a smile. "I know it's a huge risk. But something tells me that it's the right thing to do. I don't think Georgia will freak out if we're honest and show her that we value her as part of our lives."

"And Darius? Are we supposed to tell him too?"

"I don't know…I was hoping we'd only have to tell Georgia, but I guess it's up to her. If she wants us to tell him, then we'll have to."

"But he would definitely want to tell my parents, and then we would both be dead," she muttered, rubbing her forehead in apprehension.

"Jude," he said, placing his hand gently on her leg, "you don't have to make up your mind now. I'm not doing anything until you say it's alright. I just want you to take some time and consider it. Okay?"

"Consider it…okay…I guess I can do that…" she said hesitantly, already thinking it over. She was quiet for a few moments reworking his rationale in her mind. "Do you really think it's going to be easier in the long run if we tell her now?"

"I think it will," he answered truthfully. "That's not to say that it'll be easy either way. It probably won't. But knowing that Georgia is aware of the situation and supports us might make it better for everyone."

"That's probably true," Jude conceded. "I don't know, Tommy. I'll think about it."

"Thank you," he said, leaning in and kissing her lightly on her forehead.

He sighed and sat back in his chair, grabbing his bagel from the table and biting into it. She looked at him for a few moments, before asking, "You're crazy, you know that?"

"Onjly avout jyou," he said with a smile, bagel hanging out of his mouth. She smiled widely, ripped off a piece of her own bagel and threw it at him. She giggled as it hit him and he looked up at her with a shocked expression. He pulled off a piece of his bagel and pegged it back at her. She tried to shift to avoid it hitting her, but it bounced right off her shoulder and onto the bed. Laughing and throwing pieces of their bagels at each other, they didn't hear the door open.

"Sorry to interrupt, you two, but it's time to get going," Victoria announced, entering the room with Sadie, who was holding a bag.

"Aww, too bad. It was just starting to get fun," Jude said with a smile, throwing a final piece of her bagel at Tommy.

Sadie walked over closer to Jude and handed her the bag. "Here are your clothes. You might want to change before we go out there."

"Okay," Jude said, looking into the bag.

"EJ has tried to get most of the press out of the area, but there are still a few stalking behind the bushes. Just as a heads up," Sadie said.

"Great," Jude mumbled sarcastically. "And do they all know that I've been declared psychotic?"

"You're not psychotic, honey, just a little off," Victoria said soothingly.

"Just change so we can get out of here," Sadie ordered impatiently.

"Okay, okay," she said, pulling her shirt and jeans out of the bag. She suddenly stopped as everyone looked over at Tommy, who was still seated next to her grinning.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"This would be your cue to leave," Jude said, holding up her clothes.

"Just when it starts to get good…" he muttered, standing up. "I'll be outside. I'll make sure EJ has the place ready to go."

"Thanks," Jude said quietly, watching him leave with a smile on her face.

"Come on," Sadie said, hitting her sister's leg to pull her out of her post-Tommy daze.

"Sorry," Jude said, quietly starting to change.


	28. Chapter 28

Hi - I'm really sorry, I know I said that I would post yesterday, but I stupidly forgot to send myself the chapter to post so I couldn't access it while I was away. But I'm back home now, using my computer, so here it is. This is basically just a continuation of their "plan," which is unraveled a little more. Thanks again for your reviews--you guys all seriously rock. And just as a side note, I think I was hungry when I wrote this chapter because it includes some of my favorite foods...you'll see...hope you enjoy :-)

* * *

Jude successfully survived the transport from the hospital to her house without being harassed by too many reporters. She politely declined questions as the paparazzi interrogated her from the short walk to their car. 

A few days later, Jude was lounging on the couch with the TV on while her mom was in the kitchen fixing her lunch. All around the living room were cards, flowers, and fruit baskets from nearly everyone she had ever met in her life. Taking time off from the studio and school wasn't so bad. She was starting to get used to sleeping in and spending the day in her pajamas.

Her mom had arranged for a tutor, Melanie, to come by the house every afternoon. Melanie was a year older than Jude and was quiet, studious, and had no interest in music beyond the classical numbers she performed with the school band. Jude was scheduled to work with her for a few hours each day, and once she got her energy back, she would be going to school when she could and study with Melanie for the rest of the time.

"Shouldn't you be finishing your math homework?" Victoria asked, peeking around the couch at Jude.

"I thought I was supposed to relax," Jude complained, flipping through the channels.

"You are, but you can't let your schoolwork go," Victoria responded.

"I'm not. That's what Melanie is for, right?" Jude questioned, putting the magazine down.

"You can't expect Melanie to do all of the work, Jude. You have to do your homework like normal."

"I will, don't worry," Jude said, watching her mom emerge from the kitchen with a plate, which she placed in front of her daughter.

"Grilled cheese!" she exclaimed, looking at the perfectly crisp sandwich. "You got me. I'll do my math homework after lunch."

Victoria placed a kiss on her head before walking back towards the kitchen. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Victoria stopped in her path and backtracked towards the door.

"Probably more flowers," she said, approaching the door.

"It's nice to feel loved," Jude muttered, taking a bite of the grilled cheese.

She heard some movement behind her but kept her eyes focused on the TV, until she heard her name.

"Jude? You've got a visitor."

"A visitor?" Jude questioned, turning to face the doorway as Tommy walked in.

"Hi," he said, taking off his sunglasses.

"Hi," she replied with a grin.

"I hope you don't mind me just showing up but I had some time in between recording," he said, more to Victoria than to Jude.

"No, it's fine, Tommy. You know you're always welcomed here," Victoria said.

"Thanks," he replied. He looked over at Jude and smiled a little. Victoria noticed them staring at each other and felt the need to make a quick exit.

"Well, I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me," she said, walking back towards the kitchen. As she left, he approached the couch.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, taking off his jacket.

"Better. My mom took off this week to help me, which has been nice," she replied. "And I'm getting grilled cheese out of it, which is even nicer."

"That does look good, but I hope you have room for dessert," he said, handing her a white paper bag.

Her eyes lit up in anticipation as she looked inside. "Ooo! A black and white cookie! Thanks!"

"You're welcome," he replied, amused by her reaction.

"I really should collapse more often," she muttered between bites.

"Not funny," he uttered, watching her inhale the cookie.

"So, how's the studio? Are you enjoying the Jude-free week?" she asked, turning down the TV.

"It's a little strange," he replied. "But much, much calmer."

"Hey," she replied, hitting his arm. "I don't require that much effort, do I?"

"You can be a challenge," he said with a grin. "But I kind of like all the work you take."

She smiled at his response and took another bite of her cookie.

"So I wanted to ask you," he started, "have you given any thought to what we talked about? You know, about Georgia?"

She set the cookie down on her plate. "I did think about it."

"And? What do you think?"

She sighed and looked at him hesitantly. "I'm still afraid that it may go the wrong way," she said quietly. "Why are you so convinced that this is the right thing to do?"

"It's just a hunch," he said confidently. "I know Georgia and I know us. We both have good relationships with her. At a minimum, she won't say anything to anyone, even if she doesn't approve."

"I don't know Tommy…what happens if she doesn't approve?"

"Well, we just need a backup plan."

"A backup plan?" she questioned.

"Yeah. In the off-case scenario that she doesn't support us, then we'll have a backup plan to deal with whatever she throws at us."

"I really don't want to lose my contract…" she muttered.

"You wouldn't have to. I'd leave before you ever had to do that."

"What? No!" she said, a little too loudly, to which he shushed her. "You can't leave, Tommy. I don't want to work with anyone else."

"This is just a backup plan, Jude. We'd still write together—it would just be replacing me as your producer. Would you rather keep working together but not be together? That would be worse."

She thought seriously for a few moments. "This sucks. I want both."

"So do I. Trust me, this is far from ideal for me too but we need to have another option, in case it doesn't go well. And you losing your contract will not happen."

She looked at him closely, scrutinizing his hopeful expression. "You don't see this whole idea as being totally nuts?"

He laughed a little. "Maybe it is nuts. But we have to come clean eventually and I want to make sure we're protecting ourselves as much as possible."

"I guess…" she said timidly. "I trust you. If you really feel that this is the right thing to do, then so do I."

"Really?" he asked, studying her reaction carefully and searching for the hesitation in her eyes.

"Really," she answered, more confidently. "You're right—the worst that could happen is that we can't work together anymore. But if we're smart about it, we can convince Georgia that that wouldn't be the best thing for any of us."

"Exactly," he said, a smile creeping up on his face. "You're positive about this? I don't want to convince you to do this if you don't want to."

"No, I think you're right. In the end, it might help us. If it doesn't, then I guess we'll just have to deal with it," she replied. "We've been through worse."

"Yes, we have," he agreed, sliding over and pulling her into a hug. "_We'll_ be fine. Georgia, on the other hand, may have a heart attack."

She laughed a little, nervously, thinking about what was ahead for them.

"So how do we do this?" she said, pulling out of the embrace.

He sighed. "Well, I was thinking that I could tell her."

"Just you?" she asked in shock.

"Just me," he repeated.

"But it's both of us," she replied confusedly. "We should both take the heat for this."

"Jude, I'm the one who's been lying to her…at least, to her face. And if there's heat to be had, it should be mine. This was my idea and my responsibility if it goes badly."

"Tommy…no…." she said pleadingly. "We're in this together."

"We are, which is why I need to do this by myself. For both of us," he muttered quietly, not being able to explain all of the reasons circulating through his head.

"Will you wait until I'm back in the studio next week? I want to be there, even if I won't be in her office with you."

"Sure, I can do that," he agreed.

"And you'll let me know everything? Every word she says, every eyebrow raised?"

"Everything. I promise."

She sighed, looking at him hesitantly. "I hope you know what you're doing."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I do. Or at least, I hope I do."

"So do I," she replied vaguely. "So do I."


	29. Chapter 29

Hello, all...don't you love long weekends? I hope everyone's enjoying the relaxation as much as I am, catching up on my sleep and my story writing. I wrote a few really good chapters, which are coming soon. All I can say is: Tommy, Jude, and their first night alone since their month apart...it's good, I promise.

But we have to deal with Georgia first, which is a pretty important part of the story. So here's the beginning of it...please don't kill me for the ending. You'll want to, but I couldn't resist it...sorry in advance! Anyway, hope you like the rest of the chapter and as always, enjoy!

* * *

Jude's week of relaxation went by quickly as she counted down the seconds until she was allowed to step foot outside the house. She wasn't looking forward to getting back to her normal routine but Dr. Brown had given her strict instructions to only go to school and the studio part-time until she was fully recovered. Her mom had mapped out a highly technical schedule with all of her commitments so she wouldn't get overwhelmed, although Jude was tempted to ignore everything on the schedule apart from the studio. But she compromised by going to school for a few hours in the morning and then the studio for a few hours in the afternoon. 

As she entered through the front door of the studio on her first day back, she felt renewed and refreshed. She was greeted by smiles and hugs from everyone she saw—from janitors to musicians, everyone seemed genuinely concerned about her well-being.

"Jude!" she heard, about to enter Studio B. She stopped dead in her tracks, knowing whose voice was behind her.

"Georgia," she said, turning around and being pulled into a hug.

"It's good to see you back," Georgia said, mid-embrace.

"It's good to be back," Jude replied hesitantly. Still in the embrace, Jude's rush of excitement from being in the studio suddenly turned into concern and anxiety, knowing that Tommy was going to talk to Georgia within the next few hours.

"How do you feel?" Georgia asked, stepping back to examine her appearance.

"Better, thanks," Jude said quietly, not meeting Georgia's gaze but looking around the room. Georgia eyed her suspiciously but chalked it up to her physical state.

"Okay, well, it's good to have you back. Better get a move on," she instructed, watching Jude smile timidly and enter Studio B.

Opening the door and stepping foot inside the studio, she leaned against the door with her eyes closed and sighed loudly, having narrowly escaped further questions from Georgia. Slowly opening her eyes, she met the stares of Kwest and Tommy who were seated in front of the soundboard.

"Stressed already?" Kwest asked, getting up from his chair.

"No, no. Just...happy to be back…" she said nervously.

"Well, welcome back then," Kwest said, leaning in to give her a hug. "It's good to see you, Jude."

"You too," she returned.

Tommy stood up too, eyeing her with a grin. She released Kwest and walked over to him.

"Quincy."

"Harrison," he said, hugging her too. "You look great."

"Thanks," she replied. "The forced relaxation thing is good for your complexion apparently."

"And you're eating?" he asked, pulling away to get a better look at her.

"Yes, dad," she said sarcastically with an eye roll. "Don't worry, my mom has me on a tight regimen. She's become the queen of the nutritionists."

"Good," he said. They stared into each others' eyes for a few moments before Kwest spoke up.

"Just kiss her already, man," he said, walking back to his chair in front of the sound board. "Nobody's around. Except me, and I've seen it all before."

Tommy smiled and gave her a quick kiss, touching his lips to hers. "Happy?" he asked Kwest.

"Oh, yes," Kwest replied sarcastically. "You know, with you two back on, I'm going to end up being the sick one. Or at a minimum, nauseous all the time."

"Oh stop," Jude said, separating from Tommy and putting her stuff on the ground. "Besides, it may not last for too long…"

"What are you talking about?" Kwest asked.

Jude looked at Tommy hesitantly, each of them thinking the same thing.

"We're telling Georgia," Tommy answered.

"About you two?" Kwest replied as they nodded. "Why?"

"Because we have to," Tommy said softly, looking over at Jude.

"When are you doing it?" Kwest asked inquisitively.

"Today," Tommy replied.

"We want to get it over with," Jude added.

"Wow…" Kwest said, looking at the two of them in surprise. "You're serious?"

"Yup," they said simultaneously.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you both," he responded with a smirk.

"Thanks for your confidence," Tommy muttered.

"Jude? Jude!" Kwest called, taking his headphones off. "Will you please stop spinning? You're giving me motion sickness."

"Sorry," she replied weakly, stopping the chair and standing up quickly. She grabbed onto the chair as she felt the room start to spin.

"You okay?" Kwest asked, watching her stumble.

"Yeah, just great," she spat, resuming her balance and starting to pace the room.

It was two and a half hours later. After writing together for an hour or so, she and Tommy had sat down to review their strategy and then before she knew it, he had taken off to face Georgia. Curiosity getting the best of her, she had stalked quietly near Georgia's office, but didn't hear a single sound emerge from behind the door. Now, 45 minutes later, he was still in there and her impatience had grown into full exasperation.

"Maybe we shouldn't have done this," she mumbled, continuing to walk around the room. "What?" Kwest asked, removing his headphones again.

"This was a bad idea," she muttered, ignoring his question. "Why did we do this? How stupid could we be?"

"Jude? You're talking to yourself again."

"Kwest, what were we thinking? Why did I do this? I didn't want to tell Georgia."

"Then why did you?"

"Because…because it sounded like a good idea at the time…and well, Tommy really wanted to do it…"

"That's why you did this? Because Tommy wanted to?"

"No! I wanted to do it too, he just wanted to more. I don't know…"

"Well, I hate to say this," he said lightly, standing up to face her, "but it's too late to back out now."

"I know," she said helplessly. "What if it goes badly? What if they're sitting in there now discussing our exit strategy?"

"Jude, just chill out. They've been in there for over 45 minutes now. If she wanted to fire him, he would've left that office awhile ago."

She sighed and looked at him quizzically. "I guess that's probably true…"

"He'll be out soon—just relax. Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy anyway? Go sit down. Do some homework. Or write a song."

"Hmmm…write…I can try…" she said, collapsing on the couch. She grabbed her journal and pen from the side table and started scribbling in her book.

Ten minutes later, the door opened. Kwest took off his headphones and look up, as Jude threw down her journal and jumped off the couch and onto her feet. A frazzled Tommy stood in the doorway.

Jude flew up to him, grabbing his arms and pulling him into the room. She hastily closed the door behind him and stood in front of him, looking at his weary expression.

"Well?" she asked frantically. He looked down at her, his eyes clouded over in thought.

He silently walked past her, taking a seat on the couch. He rubbed his eyes briefly, mulling over everything that had transpired in the past hour.

"You're killing me here…" Jude muttered, following his movements and sitting down on the couch beside him. "Did she flip out? Are we in trouble? Do we still have jobs?"

The suspense in the room was thick as both Kwest and Jude waited uneasily for any sort of reaction from Tommy. He took a deep breath and turned to look at her.

"Well…"


	30. Chapter 30

Hi - wow, you all really didn't like that last cliffhanger! I'm really sorry to do that to all of you! But because I was cruel, I decided to edit and post the next chapter as quickly as I could. Hopefully, this will help calm some of you down, but I'm not sure if it's going to be the outcome you're waiting for...just keep reading and let me know what you think.

Thanks again for your feedback--regardless of whether it's positive or death threats :) It's kind of nice knowing some of you are so invested in the story, you're willing to threaten my life to get more :) So without further ado...ENJOY!

* * *

"What happened?" Jude asked impatiently. "Do we have to pack up our stuff?" 

"Well…I don't know," Tommy replied quietly.

"What do you mean? How do you not know?"

"Because…she didn't give me a final decision."

"What? I'm really confused…" she grumbled, slumping back against the couch in frustration. "Just start from the beginning," she pleaded, looking into his eyes.

"Okay," he agreed, taking a deep breath.

"I walked into her office and sat down. I must've looked nervous because she asked me about a dozen times if I was okay or if I wanted any water or anything. I said I was fine and then started. The first thing I did was to thank her for all of her support and help over the past few years."

"Good…kiss her butt a little…" Kwest noted from his chair.

"Right. It was all genuine, but she knew that there was a reason why I was being so nice, so she was looking at me suspiciously the whole time. When I was finished thanking her, she asked me to tell her what was really going on."

"She's so smart," Jude remarked quietly.

"So I took a deep breath and said, 'Georgia, because you've been there for me and for Jude over the past few years, I'm about to tell you something that no one else knows.'"

"No one except me, of course," Kwest added.

"Yeah, I left that out," Tommy replied quickly, continuing. "I said, 'When you asked me last week if there was anything going on with me and Jude beyond a professional relationship, I lied to you. I feel horrible about it, but I lied. We've been lying to everyone.'"

"What was her reaction when you said that?" Jude asked.

"She didn't seem shocked, but honestly, she didn't give much of a reaction at all. She just leaned back in her chair and listened to me ramble, which I did. I said that both of us had made the decision to tell her because we felt that she deserved to know the truth. I said that we understand what the consequences might be, but we didn't want to keep lying to her."

"Right," Jude agreed.

"So then she asked me to explain what I meant by 'beyond a professional relationship.' I said that we're together – like a couple. And then she asked how long it's been going on, which I said a couple of months."

"A couple of months? A couple is like two. Aren't you guys on four?" Kwest asked with a smirk.

"Whatever, close enough. She acted really serious, so I didn't want to get into technicalities," Tommy explained. "Anyway, there were a couple of minutes when she sat there thinking and I didn't know what to say, so I started to ramble again. I told her that we didn't want to tell her when it started because we didn't know how long it would last or how serious it was, but now, we both feel like it's not about to end anytime soon."

"That's nice," Jude said softly with a grin.

"She didn't really react to that either, I think she was mulling everything over and trying to figure out how to respond. Eventually, she stopped me and started to ask questions. Her first question was why I was in there without you, to which I explained that even though I was representing both of us, I didn't want you to have to deal with more drama than you already have. And that I was the one who was more likely to take the heat, as well as the one who directly lied to her. Then she asked why we chose to tell her now, instead of in another few weeks."

"My question too…" Kwest muttered.

"I told her exactly what we had discussed. That we didn't want to lie anymore and we felt like she was the best person to start with. And that in a couple of weeks, we can openly be together without worrying about the consequences, in the studio at least."

Jude nodded in agreement so he continued.

"Her next question was if I knew why you hadn't been eating or sleeping. I said that you had been going through a lot with your family and school and I had upset you enough to make everything worse. I told her that I knew you were down, but I had no idea how bad it was."

"What else did she ask?" Jude asked.

"Just a few more questions. She asked if your parents know, to which I said that they didn't and we weren't planning on telling them until you turn 18 in a few weeks. She didn't say anything more about that. The big thing she asked me was how _I_ thought the situation should be handled."

"Ooo, really? That's a tough one," Jude thought aloud.

"What did you say?" Kwest asked.

"I said that I thought it was in everyone's best interest to let us keep working together. That if we're separated, the quality of the music would be what would suffer the most."

"What did she say to that?" Jude questioned.

"She understood but reminded me that G-Major has a strict policy against inter-office relationships. I think personally, she wouldn't want us to be separated, but as our boss, she couldn't really say that. Then it was her turn to talk."

"Oh no...what did she say?" Jude asked hesitantly.

Tommy sighed and looked at Jude closely. "She said that she appreciated our honesty and as our friend, she's happy for us. But as our boss, she has no choice but to take this to the G-Major board."

"The board? As in, Darius? And Liam?" Jude asked, slightly panicked. Liam was Darius's new business associate who was managing the financial side to the studio. He was tough, not at all a friendly, warm figure.

"Yup," Tommy confirmed. "She's going to talk to them and see what they think. She made it clear that as much as she wants to make the best music possible, they are not going to be happy with this arrangement and may want to change the situation, if not terminate our contracts."

"No!" Jude cried, her face in sheer alarm. "She can't let that happen!"

"She doesn't want that to happen but ultimately, it's not just her decision, Jude, it's all of them. And we broke the rules. She said that she's going to focus on the music and make clear that we're professional in the studio, but she warned me that the odds of us working together are slim."

"Did she really think they're going to want to end our contracts?"

"No, I don't think so. I told her that if she really thinks that's necessary, then I need to be the one to go, not you."

"Tommy…"

"But it's a last resort. And that was clear. Remember? It was our backup plan."

"I hate that plan though," she muttered quietly. "So that was it?"

"Yeah, basically. She thanked us for coming forward—she thought that it was very mature of us—but we need to be prepared for whatever their decision will be."

"When do you think they'll tell us?"

"Over the next few weeks, I think. Darius is away on business and Georgia wants to tell them in person, so she's going to wait until he's back. And then it'll take some time for them to decide."

"Ugh…" Jude sighed, closing her eyes. "So now, we just have to sit around and wait? That sucks."

Tommy leaned back with her as Kwest slouched forward against the soundboard, everyone silent and reflecting his story. Tommy grabbed Jude's hand and held it tightly, closing his own eyes to remember everything Georgia had said to him.

After a few moments of quiet, Jude softly said, "Well, I'm glad it's over with."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. "Are you sorry we did this?"

"You know, I probably should be, but I'm not," Jude replied, opening her eyes. "It actually feels good to have told someone. Now she knows, so it's out of our hands."

"Right," Tommy muttered hesitantly. "Jude, if this doesn't work, if we get in trouble—"

"Don't say it, Quincy. This was your idea in the first place and you're not allowed to get all glass-half-empty on me," Jude said sternly.

"Okay, okay," he replied with a grin, squeezing her hand tighter.


	31. Chapter 31

Hi - I'm back. So, I'm officiallygoing through IS withdrawal. It's hard not having it on every Friday to look forward to...fortunately, they're still showing re-runs, at least for now, but I'm relying mainly on everyone's amazing fanfics to get me through. How are you guys all dealing?

Anyway, sorry about my rant--onto the story. The whole last chapter with Georgia was an important one, but we're leaving it temporarily, since now it's up to Georgia to decide what Tommy and Jude's fate is. It will definitely come up in future chapters, but the story goes elsewhere in the meantime...this chapter picks up at the end of the same day. It's more of a transitional chapter - not a filler, because things actually happen, but nothing huge. I actually find that I like writing these low-drama chapters--it's the banter that I love, which I'm sure you've already picked up on.

Okay, enough rambling...here's the next post. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"You're leaving? Like, now?" Jude asked, looking tired from her long day of honesty at the studio. She was relieved to finally be home, wanting to forget the day's events and relax. But as she opened the door to her house, she was immediately thwarted by Sadie, standing amidst a sea of suitcases. 

"Yeah. Sorry to be so last minute, Jude, but I have to leave," Sadie said, adding her carry-on to the pile of bags.

"Why? Why now?"

"Because McGill University in Montreal called and said that there was an immediate opening in the journalism program I applied to and they can take me now instead of next semester. If I don't go, they said that they can't guarantee there'll be space in a few months."

"But…but…this seems like it's so…sudden," Jude muttered, closing the front door and putting her stuff down near the door.

"I know, it's really sudden for me too, but they called first thing this morning and told me they could get me a dorm room tomorrow, so Mom and I are flying out there tonight."

Jude heard the sound of her mother's footsteps hurrying down the steps holding a suitcase of her own.

"So…you're both leaving?" Jude asked, staring back and forth between them.

"I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, sweetie, it's just for a night," Victoria said, walking up to Jude and giving her a quick kiss on her head.

"But you? You won't be back tomorrow," Jude said quietly, looking miserably at her sister.

"Jude," Sadie said softly, approaching her sister, "you're going to be fine without me."

"No, I won't," Jude countered softly. She swallowed, feeling tears in her eyes, and took a deep breath. "It just…won't be the same without you."

"I know," Sadie said, pulling her in for a hug. "It won't be the same not being here. But I have to go, Jude. I can't miss this."

Jude felt the tears well up against her sister's shoulder, hugging her closely. She sniffed quietly and pulled back, saying softly, "I just thought you'd have more time—I still have so much to tell you. But I guess…you have to do what you have to do, right? I'm happy for you that got a spot in the program."

"Me too," Sadie said with a grin. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Sades," Jude said, leaning in closer. "What about…you know, Josh?" she asked quietly. Her mom still didn't know the truth about who was dating who.

"Well, he knows I'm leaving and he's going to come visit me. We're going to try to make it work," Sadie said confidently.

"That's good," Jude said with a smile. "He really likes you. He talks to me about you."

"Really? What does he say?" Sadie asked inquisitively.

"He tells me about funny things you say or stories you tell him…he's crazy about you."

Sadie blushed a little and smiled to herself. "Well, he's sweet. I really want things to work out. It might be tough but we'll make it work. I know it."

"I do too," Jude agreed, smiling at her sister's happiness. "And he's a nice change from your last boyfriend…"

"If you mention his name, Jude, you won't be getting a birthday present from me," Sadie instructed sternly. Jude instantly pursed her lips together in silence, to which Sadie laughed.

"Thank you," Sadie said, as Jude smiled and watched her mom rush upstairs to grab her purse. "I'm glad you and Tommy are back on track. You're good together."

"Thanks," Jude said quietly, grinning. "It's been a tough few months."

"But it's almost over," Sadie replied with a smile.

"Yeah," Jude agreed hesitantly. "Although I think our trouble is just beginning…"

Sadie looked at her questioningly, to which Jude just shrugged and added, "It's a long story, but I'm just hoping everything goes smoothly once I turn the big one-eight."

"I do, too, for both of your sakes," Sadie said. "Speaking of which, you're going to have to let me know what happens at the big birthday bash."

"You won't be here?" Jude asked in surprise.

"I don't think so. It's only 2 weeks away, Jude, and I will have just started classes and getting into the swing of things. It might be tough to get away."

Jude silently nodded, looking disappointed. "Okay. There won't be a party anyway. I just want a quiet night."

"Wow, you are getting old," Sadie said with a smile seeing her mom return with all of her stuff.

"Ready?" Victoria asked.

"Yes, let's get going," Sadie replied, turning back towards Jude and giving her a hug. "Take care. And call me if you need anything."

"Of course. You know I can't survive without your pep talks," Jude responded, embracing her sister.

"And stay healthy, Jude. I am not coming back here to visit you in the hospital. Okay?"

"Okay," Jude agreed with a smile. "I will. Let me know how everything goes. And good luck."

"Thanks, I'll talk to you," Sadie said, lifting a duffel bag over her shoulder and picking up two suitcases. Victoria walked over and gave Jude a quick kiss before heading out the door with the rest of Sadie's luggage.

"Have a safe flight!" Jude yelled, watching them walk out the door.

"Bye!" Sadie yelled behind her.

"Bye," Jude said softly. She watched as her sister and mom loaded the car with the luggage, quickly got in, and started driving down the driveway. She waved as she saw her sister's hand waving at her through the window, as the car turned at the end of the driveway and headed down the street and away from her house.

Jude stood by the door for a few moments hearing the sound of the car getting fainter. She hadn't realized how attached she was to her sister. Over the past few months, she and Sadie had really grown closer. Sadie had become Jude's comfort in the absence of Tommy and even with him, she still relied on Sadie for support. She was happy that Sadie was getting the chance to pursue her dreams, but Jude couldn't help but selfishly feel sad to see her leave.

Snapping out of her daze, she heard the ring of her cell phone from her bag. She retreated into her house and rummaged through her bag on the floor to find it. She grinned as she looked at the name on the front.

"Mr. Quincy," she said, opening the phone.

"Miss Harrison," he replied. "How's your night going? Hopefully better than the rest of the day was."

"Oh, it's just dandy, thank you," she responded sarcastically, closing the door and walking over to the couch.

"That was enthusiastic," he said, sensing her tone.

She sighed and fell into the couch, her head on one of the pillows. "Well, my sister just left for college. Totally out of the blue."

"She just left?"

"Yup."

"When?"

"Ummm, about 3.5 minutes ago," Jude replied. "She got early acceptance into this program she applied to but they needed her to start immediately. So off she went."

"Off she went," he repeated vaguely. "That is kind of sudden."

"Yeah. I came home and she was all packed. It was depressing, but she seemed pretty positive about it."

"That's good."

"Yeah, so now, here I am, all by my lonesome."

"Alone?" he asked, with slight hopefulness in his voice. "Why alone?"

"My mom went with her."

"Ahhh…" he replied, his mind working overtime.

"For the night," she added, sensing where the conversation was heading.

"For the night? Interesting," he commented. She could tell he was smiling over the phone.

"Yeah, it's pretty upsetting. I had a pretty trying day and now I'm depressed and alone."

"Awww…poor baby…" he replied with a smirk. "Well, I could provide you with some company if it would make you feel better."

"Company? Oooo…does the company have access to food? Because not only did they leave me depressed and lonely, but hungry too," Jude said with a hopeful grin.

"Now you're really laying on the guilt trip, Harrison," he said. "When can you be ready?"

"Ten minutes?"

"I'll be there."


	32. Chapter 32

Hi all - I'm not going to ramble too much here, as this is one of the longest chapters I've written and I'd like to get right into it. I hope no one minds the length, but I couldn't bring myself to take anything out of it--it's another one of my favorites, with a good mix of humorous and serious moments. Oh, and part of this chapter and the next one are rated T, just as a warning.

Thanks again for all of your amazing feedback - I seriously cannot believe how many reviews this story has. It's really flattering and inspiring for me. You guys are the best. So here's the next update...hope you ENJOY!

* * *

"How could _you _not want a party?" he asked, taking a bite of his pizza slice.

"What does that mean? How could _I_ not want a party? What am I, some sort of attention whore?"

"Maybe," he said with a smirk. "I'm just saying, it's not like you mind the spotlight."

"Oh, right, Quincy, because out of the two of us, I'm really the one who loves people fawning all over me."

"Hey now, I left the spotlight a few years ago."

"Really? Because I seem to remember your face in Talk Weekly last Tuesday with the headline 'Little Tommy Q Adds Porsche to Car Collection.' I'd say that's definitely low-profile."

"What can I say? The public wants to know about me."

"And your car obsession," Jude said, in between pizza bites. They both grinned over their pizza slices, sitting at the counter at Tommy's apartment. After rescuing Jude from her deserted house, Tommy took her back to his place, stopping to pick up pizza on the way.

"So why don't you want a party?" he asked.

"I just don't," Jude said simply, putting her pizza down on the plate in front of her. "I guess I feel like I don't need all of that hype—the decorations, music, people—it's not really that personal, you know?"

"I understand," he replied, taking a sip of his soda. "But Jude, it's your 18th. You've been waiting for this for a long time…don't you want to celebrate?"

"First of all," she clarified, "last time I checked, we both have been waiting for this for a long time."

"True," he admitted quietly, smiling at her over his can.

"Second of all, I'm not saying I don't want to celebrate. Just not with a big party. I'm thinking dinner—just a few people getting together."

"And that's it? Just dinner?"

"That's it. Just dinner," she confirmed.

He paused and thought for a moment. "Okay, then. Dinner it is," he said, watching her smile and eat her last bite of crust. He stood up with his plate and walked over to the pizza box on the stove. He grabbed two slices, put them on his plate, and walked back over to the counter. He put one piece on her empty plate and sat back down next to her.

"Does that mean you don't need any gifts either?" he asked quietly, with a knowing grin.

"No gifts?" she asked, glancing over at him in horror. "Who said anything about that?"

"Well, it seems like you'd rather keep things simple, so wouldn't gifts just add more complication?" he questioned, grinning at the response he was about to get from her.

She dropped her piece of pizza onto the plate and stared at him in shock. "Do you not know me at all?"

He smiled and took another bite of his pizza, watching her squirm out of frustration.

She continued, "Gifts are totally necessary. They're like a requirement to even have a birthday. Without gifts, it's like no one cares that you made it through another year. Like no one appreciates that you've grown up, and in this case, officially become an adult. Without giving a gift, it's like you don't care that I was even born!"

He spit out his bite of pizza onto the plate in laughter. She watched him and realized that her reaction was slightly over the top. She couldn't help but laugh lightly with him.

"Jude," he said, his laughter subsiding, "I was kidding."

"Oh yeah, I totally knew that," she said, as he smirked at her obvious attempt to cover her exaggerated response.

He reached out to grab her hand, pulling her towards him. She hopped off the stool and stepped forward, standing in front of him.

"We'll make your birthday perfect," he assured her softly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Gifts and all."

"Thank you," she said quietly with a smile. She leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. As she drew her lips back from his, she looked into his eyes, getting lost in the sea of blue and feeling the mood grow more serious.

"I missed having you here," he muttered quietly, thinking about the month they had spent apart and how this was her first visit back to his apartment.

"I know, I missed it too," she agreed softly. "Can you believe these five months are almost over?"

"Thank god," he said with a sigh, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in closer. "Even if it turns out that we can't work together, I'll be happy just to be able to tell people."

She brought her arms around his neck. "I know…no more lying, no more sneaking around. We might get boring."

"I doubt that," he replied with a grin. "Just think of what we _will_ be doing to make things more interesting…" he started, moving one hand to her cheek and bringing her face to his. She felt the warmth of his breath as his lips met hers. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, kissing him intently. He pressed his lips to hers a little firmer, feeling the smoothness and fullness of her lips. The heat between them grew more intense as she opened her mouth a bit wider, granting his tongue access. He immediately swept his tongue against hers, both of them feeling the spark ignite.

She pulled back a little, gasping for air, as his lips went straight to her neck. The temperature in her body shot up, feeling him kiss under her ear.

"You know," she said shakily, barely able to speak, "it's only two weeks away."

She exhaled deeply as his mouth traveled down her neck towards her collar bone, his hands holding her waist securely.

"There's really not much of a difference," she got out, her eyes fluttering open, "between now and in two weeks."

She felt his actions slow at her insinuation, as he leaned back up to look into her eyes.

"Jude…"

"I want to," she cut him off, speaking with confidence.

He looked at her tentatively. "Are you serious?"

"I know it's a couple of weeks early," she said softly, "but I'm ready."

"I don't know, Jude," he said hesitantly. "I thought we were going to try to wait the full time."

"We did wait," she replied, pulling back further. "We waited 4 months and 2 weeks. That's like 90 percent of the way there."

"Wow," he uttered with a grin. "That tutor of yours is really paying off."

"Shut up, Quincy," she said with a smile, lightly hitting his arm. "You know what I mean. We made it through a majority of the time. And even though I'll officially be an adult in two weeks, nothing between us is going to change between tonight and then, will it?"

He looked into her eyes, seeing her sincerity. He couldn't deny the fact that he wanted nothing more than to take this next step with her, but he wanted to make sure it was right.

"Are you sure? Because we don't have to…it is only two weeks…"

"I'm positive," she said, looking directly into his eyes.

He sighed and started running his fingers through her hair. "But this was going to be your birthday present," he said with a snicker.

She chuckled lightly. "Well, I guess you'll have to come up with something else."

He gazed into her eyes more seriously. "I want this more than anything…you have no idea how much…I just want to make sure you're 100 positive."

"I am," she confirmed with certainty.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, revealing a small smile. "Then who I am to argue?"

She smiled a little too, seeing his expression go from thoughtfulness to anticipation, the reality of their decision settling in. She bit her lip in eagerness as her eyes locked with his. They stared at each other for a few moments, unable to look away, both feeling a sudden rush of longing. Impulsively, Tommy pulled her back towards him and crashed his lips against hers. She met his intensity and instantly embraced him, feeling his tongue go straight into her mouth. She groaned faintly at the contact, massaging her tongue against his.

Holding her tightly, he slid off the edge of his stool to stand in front of her. He quickly leaned over and lifted her up, scooping her into his arms, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He cradled her against him and continued kissing her, stumbling away from the counter and walking down the hallway towards his bedroom.


	33. Chapter 33

Hi - sorry this took a few days to post, but I wanted to make sure it was perfect (or as close to perfect as it can get). The beginning part is rated T for teen and I apologize for anything overly mushy or cute, but as you know, I'm all about the cuteness :-) Thanks again for all of your wonderful reviews and feedback. You guys totally keep me going. Thanks for everything! So here it is...ENJOY!

* * *

Tommy cradled Jude against him and continued kissing her, stumbling away from the counter and walking towards the hallway to his bedroom. 

He stumbled into his bedroom, still holding Jude and kissing her eagerly. He brought her to the edge of his bed and eased her down to let her weight fall onto the mattress. She kept her arms around his neck, pulling him down with her, as he climbed on the bed too.

Sitting on the bed beside her, he slowly started to remove her jacket. She kept her mouth steadily positioned on his, feeling his tongue sweep inside her mouth, and allowed him to pull the jacket off. She started to unbutton his shirt, feeling the buttons pull apart in her fingers and hearing him breathing intently. She worked her way down the shirt to undo the remaining buttons, swiftly pulling it off of him and leaving his white t-shirt on, as his hands glided up the back of her shirt against her bare skin. Without thinking, she moved her hands underneath his t-shirt. She dragged her hands up and down his back and sides, hearing him groan. As she crept her hands over his stomach, she felt him tug at the edge of her shirt. She quickly pulled away from his kiss to lift her arms up in the air, allowing him to remove the shirt. He took the edges of her shirt and pulled it up and over her head, revealing her cream-colored bra. She returned his gesture and brought his t-shirt up and over his head, revealing his well-built and muscular chest. Not bothering to examine each other, he immediately resumed to seize her mouth, lightly pressing her back to lie down on the bed.

He balanced himself on top of her, keeping his lips locked to hers and running his fingers through her hair. She held on to his back, feeling his shoulders move under her hands. He brought his hands down the sides of her body to the edge of her jeans. As he started to undo the button on her jeans, he felt her body suddenly stiffen.

He pulled his lips away from hers for a moment and opened his eyes. They were both breathing heavily, trying to regain control, as she too opened her eyes and stared up at him timidly. He instantly saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"Jude," he said, moving his hands away from her jeans to smooth out her hair, "we don't have to do this."

"I want to," she said quietly, looking into his eyes. Her words were genuine but there was still slight uncertainty in her voice.

"That wasn't very convincing," he replied, shifting to rebalance his weight on one side.

She exhaled deeply and closed her eyes. "I do want to," she started, opening her eyes again to look at him, "I'm just a little scared. It's stupid, I know, but I can't help it."

"It's okay," he said soothingly. "It's your first time—you're allowed to be scared, you know."

She gave a faint nod and looked up at him. "I do want to do this. I guess…would it be okay…if we just took it slowly?"

He gave her a small smile and realized that they had been rushing the process along. "Of course."

She smiled back at him, feeling immediately more comfortable. He saw her relax and felt more relaxed himself. "Jude, this is sort of a first for me too…"

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

He sighed. "It's just…it's not my first time, but…well, I've never really done this with somebody I…love."

She looked at him questioningly. "Really? But…Portia? And all of those other girls?"

"I loved Portia, but in a weird way—I guess, well, I loved her as much as I could being 18, self-absorbed, and intoxicated 24 hours a day," he attempted to explain. "And those other girls, I didn't love any of them. This is different, Jude. You're different. I want this to be special, for both of us."

She gazed at him appreciatively, reaching for his hand. "It's you and me. It will be special."

He smiled and leaned down to softly bring his lips to hers. After a brief kiss, he pulled back to look into her eyes. "I love you," he said quietly.

She smiled, tears threatening to fall. "I love you, too."

His eyes lit up at her words and his lips turned upwards into a small smile. After a few moments of staring into each other's eyes, he lightly touched her cheek and leaned in to kiss her again. Except this time, it was softer, slower, and special enough to be both of their firsts.

--------------------------------------

An hour later, they lay together under the navy sheets half-asleep. Her head was comfortably resting next to his neck, with her arm draped over him, while he had one arm tightly wound around her. They were silently breathing as one, still recovering from the past hour.

Glancing down at her still form, he softly asked, "Are you…alive?"

She let out a light laugh at his question and shifted to look up at him. "I'm alive."

"Good. Because, you know, if you weren't, then I would really feel bad."

"You should," she replied with a snicker.

"And then, of course, we wouldn't be able to do this again," he added with a grin. "Which would be really disappointing."

Her face went from a smile to a deeper look of concern. "Was it…bad?" she asked quietly.

"What?" he asked disbelievingly, propping himself up to look at her closer.

"Well, it's just, if you meant that I need some practice—" she started, looking away from his gaze nervously.

"No, Jude, that's not even close to what I meant," he said, playing with her hair. "It was amazing."

"Really?" she asked, the smile reappearing. He nodded and she immediately relaxed a little against him, enjoying how he was brushing his fingers through her hair.

She perked up a little and looked at him again. "I don't mind the practice though, just so you know."

He laughed at her, seeing her smile light up. "Okay, good. So you're…feeling alright?"

"Yeah," she answered. "A little…weird, honestly…and slightly sore…but overall, I feel good."

"Good," he said. "You know, technically, we're no longer law-abiding citizens."

"True," she agreed, with a grin. "Although I'm more scared of Georgia than I am of Canada right now."

"Don't think about it, Jude," he replied quickly, causing her to glance up at him uneasily. "Everything's going to work out."

"Do you promise?" she asked hopefully.

"I promise," he said with a smile, placing a kiss on her head. "Let's not focus on stuff like that now. Let's just think happy thoughts."

"Happy thoughts…okay…how about my birthday present?"

He laughed, "Is that your only happy thought?"

"Well…I could think about all of the practicing I'm going to be doing," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Ahh, yes, that practice," he replied with a grin, sliding down so they were eye to eye. "Exactly when did you want to start all of that practicing? You know, just so I'm prepared."

"Prepared? What kind of preparation would that be?" Jude asked with a smirk.

"Oh, well," he said, leaning over to nibble on the edge of her ear, "just a little rest. I have to make sure I have enough energy to keep up with you."

She closed her eyes as his lips traveled downwards onto the side of her neck. "How much rest do you need exactly?" she managed to get out, losing her concentration.

He kissed her neck for a few more moments and then worked upwards towards her mouth. He gently kissed her lips, replying softly, "Depends on how you're feeling."

She smiled, in between kisses, and said, "I feel like I'm ready for my next practice session."

"Okay, good," he responded. "Then let's get cracking." He passionately recaptured her lips and pulled the sheet up and over them.


	34. Chapter 34

Hi everybody - here's our next update, thanks for your reviews on the last post! One thing I forgot to say before the last chapter is that even though there weren't any references to them using "protection," they did. There won't be any pregnancies in my stories--I'm all about them having safe sex. :)

Anyway, one other thing - I'm going away for a week (yay!) on Wednesday, so I'm going to try to post before I leave. I actually haven't really written anything beyond this chapter, which is unusual for me, I'm sort of stuck. So let me know if you have any thoughts and I'll try to get something out before Wednesday. Thanks again for all of your feedback, I love you guys. And here it is...ENJOY :)

* * *

The sun shone brightly as Jude leaned back in the leather seat, watching her hair flap around against the wind. She smiled as the scenery went by—the children in the playground, the drivers attempting to park their cars—it all suddenly appeared to be more lively, more vivid than before. 

Feeling herself being watched, she instinctively turned her head to meet Tommy's gaze. He was smiling softly at her, stopped at a light on the road.

"What?" she asked, grinning back at him.

"Nothing," he replied quietly, still smiling but refocusing his attention on the road and the green light. She kept her gaze on him with a questioning smile, which he quickly turned back to see.

"You just look so…content and so…cute," he attempted to explain, making her blush a little.

"Well, I am content. And apparently, cute too," she replied with a wide smile.

He laughed lightly and reached for her hand, weaving his fingers between hers.

"Do you think…" Jude started. "Do you think…people will…notice?"

"Notice?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied timidly. "That's what I've heard. That people can tell."

"How would they do that?" he asked in confusion.

"Well," she said slowly, turning towards him. "Do I look different to you?"

He smiled and let out a small chuckle. "Yes, but that's probably because I'm picturing you naked."

"That's not what I meant," she replied with a laugh, hitting his arm. "Ugh, forget it. This is probably one of those things you have to be a girl to understand."

"Okay," he replied skeptically. They drove in silence the rest of the way, occasionally glancing at each other with smiles.

Ten minutes later, they walked into G-Major, still smiling but hands back in their own territory. They quickly breezed through the main lobby, passing by Georgia's office who was conveniently on the phone, and entered Studio B, where Kwest was waiting.

"Morning," Tommy said as they walked in, hanging their jackets up on the hooks behind the door.

"Morning," Kwest returned, turning towards them. "No school today, Jude?"

"Nope," she said with a grin. "Spring break."

"Ahhh, I remember spring break…" Kwest said, leaning back in his chair. "The beaches, the pina coladas, the girls…ahh, the girls…"

"Umm, I'm still here, you know," Jude reminded him.

"And besides, Kwest, we never went on spring break. Remember? The Boyz Attack world tour?" Tommy asked with a grin, sitting down next to him.

"Oh, right," Kwest replied regretfully. "I guess that's how I imagined it in my mind. Sad though, that you're stuck here with us."

"It's not so bad," Jude said softly with a smile. Tommy looked up at her and smiled too, meeting her gaze.

Kwest caught the moment between the two of them and cleared his throat.

"What's got you two all warm and fuzzy?"

"Huh?" Tommy asked, half-hearing him.

"I asked what's going on. With the two of you. You're all…weird…" Kwest said, looking back and forth between them. "And you," he continued, looking at Jude, "there's something…different about you."

"See?" Jude said with a grin, hitting Tommy's shoulder. They both snickered as the door opened and EJ came rushing in, yelling on her cell phone.

"…it has to be at 3:00 or no deal…fine, 3:30…and if you're late again…good," she spat, quickly shutting her phone in annoyance. She scanned the room until her eyes fell on her next victim.

"Jude," she said quickly, "we have an appointment at 3:30 today with Mark Lopez."

"Who's Mark Lopez?" Jude asked as EJ smirked.

"Only the greatest party planner in the world."

"And why exactly are we meeting with him?" Jude asked slowly, trying to comprehend what EJ was getting at.

"For your party, of course," EJ said, heading back towards the door.

"What?" Jude asked, her eyes wide. "But EJ, I don't want a party."

"Right," EJ scoffed, texting someone on her cell phone. "Be there—on time. You have no idea what I went through to get this meeting."

"Maybe you didn't hear me, EJ," Jude said, slightly panicky, approaching her in the doorway. "I don't want a party. No decorations, no band, no hoopla—nothing."

EJ halted her text and glared at Jude. "Have you gone totally insane? It's your 18th. Why wouldn't you want a party?"

"I just don't," Jude answered in annoyance. Why did everyone assume she wanted a big celebration?

"Well, that's not good enough for me," EJ replied, shutting her cell phone again.

"I'm sorry, EJ, but it has to be," Jude responded, crossing her arms.

At that moment, another figure appeared in the doorway that made Jude unknowingly gasp.

"Georgia…hi…."

"What's all the commotion in here?" Georgia asked sternly. Jude immediately stiffened up at her presence, avoiding Tommy's eyes who seemed equally as anxious.

"It seems that Jude doesn't want a party for her birthday this year," EJ complained. "After all the trouble I went through to get Mark Lopez to plan it, and now she doesn't want it."

"EJ, if you had just asked me what I wanted, I would've told you," Jude countered.

"Fine, Jude, what do you want then if there's no party?" EJ asked snippily.

"Dinner. I just want dinner with my closest friends and family," Jude replied.

"Dinner? But that's so…boring," EJ said, looking confused.

"If dinner's what she wants, then we'll have to arrange that," Georgia said firmly, looking at EJ. EJ groaned and turned back towards Jude. "Fine. Dinner. And who shall we be inviting to this dinner? Your parents and their significant others, I'm assuming. Jamie, Kat, Josh—"

At the sound of Josh's name, Georgia shot Jude a questioning glance, to which Jude blushed. Since Georgia knew the truth about her and Tommy, she couldn't keep lying about Josh.

"Umm, EJ," Jude started uncomfortably. "Josh doesn't need to come."

"What? Why not?" EJ asked in confusion.

"We sort of…ummm…we broke up," Jude said quietly, knowing the reaction EJ was going to have. Her face turned red and she threw her hands up in the air.

"Jude! First you tell me there's no party. Now you're telling me you broke up with your famous boyfriend? How do you expect me to get you any positive publicity now?"

"I'm sorry!" Jude exclaimed.

EJ sighed, clearly angry. "I think we seriously need to reconsider this whole party idea then. You can show up with someone new!"

"No!" Jude exclaimed, getting more annoyed. "There will not be a party, EJ. At least not one that I'm willingly attending."

Tommy, who was seated in front of the sound board listening to the rising feud in the doorway, suddenly raised his brow and abruptly stood up.

"EJ," he said calmly, approaching the two of them, "let's go. Jude says she doesn't want a party so we should respect her wishes."

"Thank you," Jude said appreciatively.

"Now, let's go discuss this dinner of hers," he said, quickly ushering a confused EJ out the door and down the hall. Georgia watched them leave and turned back to Jude.

She leaned in closely to her and said softly, "We need to talk."

Jude looked up at her nervously. "I know."

"My office. Five minutes," Georgia said, before turning around and heading back down the hallway. She closed the door behind her, leaving Jude and Kwest in the studio.

Kwest looked over at her. "No party?"

Jude rolled her eyes. "No! No party! Why is that such a shock to everybody?"

"Whoa, chill," Kwest said in his defense.

"Sorry," Jude mumbled with a sigh. "Kwest, I have to go talk to Georgia. Will you do me a favor?"

"Sure, anything."

"If I don't come back alive, will you make sure my CD still gets released?" Jude asked fearfully.

"Sure," Kwest agreed with a smirk. "I'll even put a note on it that those were you final words."

"Gee, thanks," Jude said, taking a deep breath to relax before heading down the hall.


	35. Chapter 35

Hi - here's my last post before I leave on vacation (yay!). I'll be back next Wednesday, but to be honest, this is one of the first times when I don't have a lot written...I know where I want to go, I just have to figure out how to get there. I'm hoping to find inspiration in good ol' California and bring it back for the story. So hopefully, there will be a post on Wednesday, but if not, then definitely Thursday. I promise. :-)

I quickly wanted to say that I can't believe two things: 1. How long this story is--I seriously didn't think I would surpass The Blackout, but who knew? and 2. How many reviews this story has. It's amazing--some of you consistently review every chapter, whether you like it or not, and I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me. Reading those reviews is like gold--it totally brightens up my day and makes me want to come up with more good stuff for everyone. So thanks again :)

I hope everyone has a good week and that you like this chapter ending (I think it's cute). And of course--ENJOY!

* * *

Five minutes later, Jude sat fidgeting in the seat in front of Georgia's desk. She had walked down the hall and saw Tommy and EJ talking in his office. She shot him a nervous glance as she proceeded towards Georgia's office, afraid of what she would happen once she got there. 

"Jude, you know I spoke to Tommy yesterday," Georgia started, to which Jude nodded. "I haven't discussed this matter with Darius yet but I wanted to confirm that Tommy really was representing both of you."

"Of course," Jude replied confidently.

"It's just that I would've assumed you would've come with him to tell me."

"I wanted to," Jude said candidly, "but Tommy insisted on telling you himself. He felt strongly about it, so I let him. But I promise, everything he said came from me, too."

Georgia nodded in understanding. "I obviously don't have an answer for you Jude, but I assume Tommy shared my concerns with you."

"He did," Jude replied. "We knew telling you would be a risk. But we wanted to be honest."

"I appreciate that," Georgia said, leaning forward into her desk. "But unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that we have our policies here."

"I understand," Jude said quietly.

"Good," Georgia said. "For the record, Jude, I am happy that you came forward with this. And I can tell that you are happy together."

"We are," Jude agreed. "I know it seems strange, with the age difference and everything—"

"It doesn't, actually," Georgia interrupted. "Maybe it should, but I know you both. I don't think it's strange at all. I actually think it's a good fit."

"Really?" Jude asked in surprise.

"Yes," Georgia said, standing up and walking towards Jude to sit down in the chair next to her. "I want you to know that regardless of what the decision will be, I really am happy for you, Jude."

"Thank you," Jude said softly, smiling.

"The fact that he offered to take a pay cut to keep working with you is the most shocking thing I've heard come out of his mouth…" Georgia muttered with a snicker. "That's love."

"What?" Jude questioned, genuinely baffled by her comment.

Georgia saw her reaction and realized instantaneously that Jude wasn't aware of Tommy's offer. "Ohhh…I shouldn't have said anything…"

"He offered to do what?" Jude asked, her expression a mix of confusion and shock.

Georgia sighed. "He wants to keep working with you. And he was willing to do whatever it takes to keep things intact. So he offered to take a salary cut."

"He did? What kind of salary cut?" Jude said, stunned by her words.

"A pretty substantial one," Georgia replied. "I told him that I'm not sure if that will make any difference, seeing as it's against policy regardless of how much he's being paid, but he made it pretty clear that his priority is you. And working with you."

"Wow…" Jude said, still shocked. "That's like telling me that he's selling the Viper."

Georgia smirked. "Exactly. Although with the salary he offered to take, that car collection of his would definitely have to decrease…" Georgia said, still seeing disbelief in Jude's eyes. "Jude, he may not have wanted you to know that. I probably shouldn't have said anything."

"No, no, it's okay," Jude said, snapping out of her daze. "I won't say anything."

Georgia nodded and stood up again. "Well, I will certainly let you know once a decision has been made. In the meantime, I trust that the two of you are on your best behavior in the studio. Got it?"

Jude nodded and agreed, "Got it."

"Good. Thanks, Jude," Georgia said, walking her out.

"Well, thank you," Jude replied turning towards her. "For everything."

------------------------------------------------

Jude kept her promise and didn't mention a word of their conversation to Tommy, though she could not forget what Georgia had told her. A week and a half later, Jude and Tommy still had not heard about the decision on them working together. Georgia had informed them that Darius, who had returned from his business trip, and Liam were both made aware of their relationship, but that they needed time to deliberate. So every day like clockwork, Jude would stop by Georgia's office, stick her head in and shoot Georgia a questioning look as if to ask "Anything?" And everyday, she received the same reaction—a shake of her head to say no.

Knowing that all three of their bosses were now aware of their relationship only increased their level of anxiety. They were constantly paranoid that one of them would walk in on them and expect to see something going on, so they maintained their distance at the studio and tried to act as professionally as possible. Even Kwest was impressed with their level of maturity, though he continued to point out the subtle looks and googly eyes he caught them giving each other during work hours.

To keep herself distracted, Jude focused her attention on her birthday dinner. Although EJ was still resistant to the idea of just having a dinner, she gave in to Jude's wishes and agreed to plan it. They settled on having it at the back room at Luigi's, Jude's favorite Italian restaurant. There were a little over 15 people invited, including her parents, a few friends, and some people from the studio. Though Jude repeatedly pushed EJ for details, EJ insisted on handling everything on her own.

"What about invitations?" Jude asked EJ, who was seated across from her at the conference room table.

"It's been taken care of," EJ said quickly, filing her nails.

"And the menu? What about which menu items we get to choose from?" Jude questioned, getting frustrated at the lack of information being shared.

"Jude, for the last time, it's all been taken care of," EJ said, briefly stopping filing her nails to glare at Jude. Jude huffed at the response and leaned back in her chair.

"But I wanted to be part of the planning," Jude whined.

EJ set the nail file down on the table and looked carefully at Jude. "Most people would thank me for taking care of all of these tedious decisions, but you just can't be happy, can you, Jude?"

Georgia, who sat at the head of the table, cleared her throat to ease the tension and swiftly said, "Okay, that's enough, EJ. You need to go through all of your decisions with Jude."

"But Georgia," EJ said promptly, leaning onto the table, "I…can't. I don't have all of the paperwork in place yet."

"But you've made decisions about this dinner and they need to be discussed with her. Got it?"

"Got it," EJ replied as she slumped back in her chair and picked up her nail file again.

After forcing some basic information out of EJ, the meeting was drawn to a close and Jude headed for Studio B. Tommy was sitting by himself in there when she entered.

"Hey, how are birthday plans going?" he asked, spinning his chair around to see her.

"They're going," she replied with a sigh, collapsing in the chair beside him. "So, what are _your_ plans for my birthday?" she asked flirtatiously.

"What? What do you mean?" he asked, his brows scrunched up in confusion.

"Well, I'm assuming you and I are going to do something to celebrate…besides, well, you know…right?" she asked with a hopeful glance.

"Ummm, Jude," he started, running his fingers through his hair. "I honestly haven't planned anything."

"Really?" she questioned quietly, surprised at the sincere look on his face. "Nothing?"

"I'm sorry, Jude. Everything's just been so busy—" he started, seeing her expression grow somber.

"I know, it's fine," she stated quickly, getting up from her chair. "I just thought this was important to you too."

"It is," he said, grabbing her wrist to force her to stand still. "But I've just been really preoccupied lately."

She nodded and looked down, clearly disappointed, as he continued, "But your dinner is going to be great, right? And I'll be there."

"It's not the same," she muttered quietly. "Unless you're planning on telling my parents that night, we can't really hang out at my dinner like I thought we would."

"Well, I wasn't planning on breaking the big news on the actual night of your birthday, but I'll still be there to celebrate with you. And I promise to make it as special as I can," he promised, trying to catch her gaze.

"Fine," she replied shortly, pulling her arm out of his grasp and walking towards her guitar in the corner. He watched her go and sighed deeply, swiveling his chair back around to face the sound board and out of her view. As he heard her tuning the guitar behind him, his lips slowly turned upwards to reveal the smallest, subtlest smile.


	36. Chapter 36

Oh my gosh, I seriously have been trying for four days straight to post this update...FINALLY! I promise, I didn't abandon you and thanks to those who reviewed while they waited :) Has anyone else had issues?

Anyway, hi—I'm back from a great trip! It was a perfect getaway but I'm happy to be home. And I have good news-this story has totally been re-energized from a combination of my vacation and posting frustration. Over the last few days, I just kept writing since the site wasn't working. I'm pretty close to finishing it...but never fear, I actually came up with an idea for yet another story, although I'm promising myself not to start posting it until this one is done. But it's seriously so good...I'm full of inspiration now!

So thanks for hanging in there and reviewing the last chapter even though you knew it would be awhile before this post. This chapter has a cliffie at the end, as a warning, as I know how much you all love those cliffies. :) But not to worry, the next chapter will be up by the end of the weekend, as long as the site works. ENJOY!

* * *

"Jude, enough arguing. You are not wearing jeans," EJ demanded. 

"Sorry, Jude, but I agree," Sadie chimed in on the other end of the phone, as EJ and Jude examined the outfit laid out on Jude's bed.

"Fine, but I am not wearing a gown," Jude retorted to both of them, holding the phone under her ear. It was the night before her birthday and instead of celebrating with her boyfriend, Jude was stuck arguing with her publicist and her sister about the outfit for the following night. As the clock drew closer to midnight, Jude huffed and lay down on her bed, hearing Sadie rattle off some description of a tank top she had seen at a store that would look great on Jude. EJ started rummaging through her closet, throwing clothes all over the room.

"EJ, what are you doing?" Jude exclaimed, seeing her Ramones t-shirt fly through the air to land on her teddy bear in the corner.

"Trying to find something decent for you to wear," EJ replied, stuffing her head further into the closet.

"You won't find anything," Jude mumbled.

"Tell EJ that you should wear the black tank top with the silver sequins," Sadie instructed.

"Ugh, no!" Jude responded. "Sadie, that tank top is way too small. And it trails sequins all over the room. They end up in my bra."

"So? You could use a little shine in there too," Sadie said with a laugh.

"No, Sadie, I am not wearing that top."

"Jude, you are hopeless," EJ replied with a sigh, emerging from the closet with her hair askew. "I couldn't find one decent thing."

"Sorry, wardrobe isn't my thing," Jude said, sitting up on her bed. "Remember the Juno's? I only looked good because of that stylist you hired."

"The stylist…" EJ said, her eyes widened in thought. "Hilary! I'll call Hilary! Jude, you're a genius."

"Thanks," Jude replied flatly, watching EJ scurry out of the room. "Looks like the case is solved, Sadie. EJ has gone for reinforcements."

"Good," Sadie said. "Oh hey, I have to get going, my study group is heading out. I'll definitely call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Sadie," Jude said.

"Night," Sadie replied before Jude shut the phone. She lay back on her bed and gently closed her eyes.

She started to drift off to sleep when suddenly, the 24 Hours ring on her phone chimed, interrupting her dreamy state. She sat up and reached for the phone on her nightstand, smiling at the number on her caller id.

"Jude Harrison – Queen of the Almost-Legal Incorporated, can I help you?"

"Excuse me, Queen of the Almost-Legal Incorporated, but it looks like you better change that title," Tommy said with a smirk. Jude glanced over at the clock on her nightstand and smiled at the time: 12:01am.

"Ooo!" she exclaimed, looking at the clock.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy—"

"Quincy, please don't sing," she pleaded. "I hate that song, you know that."

"Okay, okay," he said with a laugh. "Happy birthday, girl."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile.

"Are you celebrating yet?" he asked.

"Nope, nada. EJ was here raiding my closet, but she left, and my mom is out for the night. So it's just me. Unless you want to come over and celebrate…"

"I would, but I can't," he replied regrettably. "I'm sorry, but I have a crazy day tomorrow and if I'm with you, I doubt I'd get enough sleep."

"Fine, but you're the one missing out," she said disappointedly.

"Don't I know it…" he responded. "I better get going actually. Happy birthday, girl. Love you."

"Love you too," she replied hastily before closing the phone in thought. _Why was he being so distant lately? Did he really just choose sleep over sex? Who was this guy and what had he done with her real boyfriend?_

As she contemplated his recent aloofness, she finally found herself closing her eyes and falling asleep.

She woke with a startle the next day, as her mom was standing over her bed singing.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear—"

"Mom! Enough!" she cried, throwing the blanket over her head.

"Sorry, honey," Victoria said, creeping over to the side of the bed and pulling back the blanket to give Jude a quick kiss. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," Jude said with a small smile, her eyes half-closed.

"I have to go to work, but I'll be back later with your gifts," Victoria said, approaching the door.

"Gifts?" Jude asked, eyes wide open and throwing the blanket off of her. "As in, multiple?"

"Maybe," Victoria replied with a smile. "Oh, and EJ called. She's coming over with Hilary around 4:00, so be ready for them by then."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom," Jude replied.

"No problem. Happy birthday, sweetie," she said, before closing the door and leaving Jude to herself. She lay in bed for another few minutes before getting up to shower. Afterwards, she went downstairs to the couch and collapsed, happy to not have to be at work.

Hours later, she was standing with EJ and Hilary, her stylist, adding the final touches to her outfit. She had selected an olive-colored wrap dress—clean and simple. Hilary had brought matching accessories—a purse and dangling bracelets. She looked at her reflection and smiled.

"Hilary, you're truly a genius," Jude said, pulling her stylist in for a quick hug.

"Well, I'm glad you think so," Hilary replied, looking her over one last time before shooting EJ a quick look to indicate they had to leave.

"Umm, Jude, we have to get going, but we'll meet you at the restaurant, right?" EJ asked.

"Uhh, sure. You mean we're not going together?" Jude asked in confusion.

"No, I think Tommy is here to take you over," EJ responded, before hastily exiting her bedroom and leaving Jude all alone.

Her birthday had truly been one of the strangest days she had experienced in a long time. She heard from very few people during the day—her sister didn't call, she hadn't heard a peep from Tommy again. She got an e-card from Jamie and a text message from Kat, but that was it. Did everyone forget or something?

Shrugging off her annoyance, she grabbed her bag and started walking out the door, looking out as she was walking down the steps to see Tommy waiting at the bottom.

"Hi there, birthday girl," he said.

"Hi," she replied with a wide smile, reaching the bottom. He immediately moved his hand that was behind his back out towards her, revealing a single red rose.

"For you," he said with a smile.

"Thank you," she replied, taking it from him. He immediately pulled her in and enveloped her in a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Pulling back, he started to lean in for a kiss as she backed away.

"My mom—"

"Is gone," he replied quickly. "Already left for the restaurant."

"Oh, that's convenient then," she said with a smile, leaning in and meeting her lips to his. He pulled her in closer and kissed her passionately until they were breathless. They parted lips and stared at each other for a few moments.

"So, before we leave," he started, grabbing her hand and walking over towards the counter, "I need to give you my gift."

"Now?" she questioned, her smile growing wider from anticipation.

"Yep, now," he said, patting the seat for her to sit down. As she did, he sat down on the chair beside her and reached into his pocket producing a small black box. Her eyes instantly lit up at the sight.

"So," he began, taking a deep breath but keeping the box in his hands, "we've had quite the few months here."

"Yes, we have," she agreed. She smiled, antsy to get her hands on the box.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say, before I give this to you, that these last few months together have meant the world to me. And despite the occasional bumps, I can honestly say that everything we went through has been worth it. I love you, Jude," he concluded.

"Thank you, that was really sweet. I love you too," she said, leaning in to give him a soft kiss on the lips.

"So, I guess now is the point where you get your gift?" he asked, teasing her a little.

"Yeah, that's usually what happens when you're holding it in front of me," she replied with a grin.

"Okay, okay…here you go. Happy birthday," he said, handing her the small box.

Her fingers immediately latched on to it, feeling the warmth of the box in her hands. She smiled up at him and gently opened it, revealing its contents.


	37. Chapter 37

Yay! It's working today--the site didn't work again yesterday. Seriously, is anyone else having these problems?

Anyway, hi again! You guys crack me up with your responses to the last cliffie...I figured the warning at the beginning would help make it a little better, but I guess not! So here's the next part with the contents of the box...it's not what some of you were thinking. While this is just fiction, I don't think they'd run down the aisle too quickly, so no wedding plans. Sorry :( But I came up with something close, I hope you like it.

Also, I love this chapter. Especially the end. This is another one of those scenes that still makes me laugh. But be warned, there's a part in the beginning that is rated T for Teen.

I'm hoping the site cooperates and lets me update in a few days. If you don't see the next post, just know that I'm trying! I'm not forgetting about any of you, I promise. So I hope you like the gift and as always, ENJOY!

* * *

"Tommy…" Jude started breathlessly, staring down at the contents of the black box. 

"Do you like them?" he asked anxiously.

"Like them? I love them!" she exclaimed, her eyes glazed over by the large, sparkling diamond earrings before her. "They're beautiful."

"You don'talways wear earrings but I thought these were pretty special," he started, still nervous at her reaction.

"They're…incredible. Honestly. I love them," she said, taking her eyes off the earrings to meet his gaze. She leapt off the stool and into his arms, embracing him tightly. "Thank you so much," she murmured.

"You're welcome," he returned, smiling at her reaction. "You should put them on."

She pulled back a bit, realizing that Hilary hadn't supplied her with earrings. "Did you plan this or something? Hilary forgot to give me earrings."

"Maybe…" he replied with a mischievous smile. "I might've mentioned something to EJ."

She smiled and leaned forward to bring her lips to his. "Thank you," she repeated, pulling back and scurrying over to the mirror in the hallway to put them on. He followed her slowly and watched as she clipped them onto her ears.

"Perfect," she said, looking at them on. They shone brightly against her skin, attracting the light from the room. "I love them."

"Good," he said pleasingly, looking at her reflection. She turned towards him once more, smiling widely, as he tucked her hair behind her ears to see the earrings better. He smiled too, watching as they reflected against the glow in her eyes. He brought one hand to her cheek and gently caressed her soft skin.

"You look beautiful," he said quietly. Her smile turned more modest, gazing into his eyes warmly. He brought his other hand to her cheek and drew her face closer to his, leaning down to press his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his back and opened her mouth slowly to feel his tongue graze hers. He massaged his tongue against hers and heard her groan quietly from the intensity. His hand lightly traveled from her cheek down the side of her body, feeling the smoothness of her dress. He rested his fingers against the knot on the side of the dress holding it together. He started fumbling with it for a moment, keeping his mouth steadily affixed to hers, and finally felt the tie pull apart. She instantly sighed in his mouth, feeling the dress come apart and his hand slide between the fabric to touch her bare skin. As his fingers dragged up her stomach and over her bra, she broke the kiss and pulled back, breathing heavily.

"Tommy…" she sighed, as his mouth went to her neck. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his lips against her neck, but quickly opened them again, struggling to maintain control.

"Tommy," she tried again, a little more convincingly, "we can't do this now."

He trailed kisses up her neck to her ear, nibbling around where the diamond earring was situated. She closed her eyes again, losing concentration, as he asked quietly into her ear. "Why not?"

She sighed and swallowed, trying once more to regain her senses. "Because…we have a dinner to go to."

"They can wait," he said breathlessly, pulling back and going towards her other ear.

"No, really…we have to get going…" she said distantly, feeling both of his hands now roaming all around her body under her dress. As his hands made their way down to the edge of her panties, her eyes opened once more and she placed her hands over his to stop him.

"Tommy, we can't. Not now, at least."

He pulled back from kissing her ear and sighed deeply, "I know, you're right."

"I'm sorry…" she said regretfully, looking into his eyes.

"Don't be," he said, lightly kissing her lips. "I just got carried away. We should get going."

She grinned at him, "We can continue later where we left off, if you want."

His eyes lit up as his brows raised. "You've got yourself a deal, Harrison."

She smiled and stepped back, attempting to retie her dress and smooth out her hair. After they were both fully straightened out and she had sufficiently reapplied her lip gloss, they took off.

"Quincy, the restaurant is the other way. You missed the turn off," Jude remarked, watching the street that lead to the restaurant pass behind her in the mirror.

"Oh, I know," he said, readjusting in his seat. "I actually have to stop by the studio quickly. I forgot something."

"The studio? That's really out of our way—I'm going to be totally late. What's so important that you can't get after dinner?" she asked, staring at him.

He kept his eyes focused on the road and swallowed loudly, clearly thinking. His eyes glanced around the car and eventually landed downwards, as one of his hands went to his pants pocket.

He looked up at her with a spark in his eyes, "My wallet. I left my wallet in my office."

"Really? I thought you had it before," she said in confusion, vaguely remembering feeling it in his pocket.

"Nope, that was my cell phone," he said quickly, eyes back on the road. "It'll just take a minute. We'll run in and grab it and then leave. Okay?"

She shook her head and sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Whatever you say, Quincy. But you're going to have to explain to everyone why we're late. And the words 'make out session' better not be part of it."

He laughed lightly. "Okay, I'll explain."

Ten minutes later, the Viper rolled into the parking lot of G-Major, which was all quiet. The lights were out in the building as they pulled up to the front.

"Come on," Tommy said, parking the car and turning off the ignition.

"Why? Don't you just want to grab the wallet and leave? Do you need me for that?" she questioned. All of his actions were starting to frustrate her.

"Just come on," he said more persuasively, opening the door for her. "I'm not sure where it is. I need you to help me find it. You know how messy my desk is."

She sighed loudly and got out of the car. "Fine," she mumbled, following him to the door and standing with her hands on her hips as he pulled out the keys to unlock the door.

He turned towards her before opening the door with a grin on his face. He saw her impatient expression and said, "Will you please relax? It'll just take a minute, I promise." He gave her a puppy dog look, causing her to roll her eyes and loosen up.

"Okay, okay," she agreed, to which he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

He opened the door and let her in, not being able to see because of the darkness. He flicked on a light in the lobby, revealing a quiet and still room. They started walking towards the main room, holding hands, with her following him. As they approached the landing, the room was pitch black and completely silent. She stood next to him, waiting for him to turn on the light, but he didn't.

She looked at him through the darkness and said loudly, "Please don't tell me this is another attempt to get me to have sex with you."

He immediately froze in his stance, his body tensing at her comment. She looked at him curiously and asked, "What is it?"

He exhaled loudly and said to her quietly, "Just turn on the lights."

She didn't understand his reaction so she kept going. "Is that what this is? Because you know, I didn't mean to upset you before. But when I said we should wait until later, I just meant—"

"Jude," he said firmly, turning towards her in the dark and looking straight into her eyes. "Turn. On. The. Lights." She flinched a little at his forceful tone until he added, "Now."

She scoffed in irritation and turned around, pulling her hand away from his. She walked over to the wall where the lightswitch was and unthinkingly flicked it upwards to illuminate the room.

"**SURPRISE!"**

Her mouth dropped open as she looked down at the hundreds of faces around the room laughing and clapping for her. Cameras flashed and music sounded, her eyes taking in the balloons and streamers, all to celebrate her birthday. In her shock, she turned towards Tommy, whose face was red.

"Oh. My. God." she muttered, barely audible, mouth still agape.

He took a deep breath and walked towards her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He dragged her stunned body to the edge of the landing and whispered, "Happy birthday, girl."


	38. Chapter 38

Hi--you guys are awesome with your responses to the last chapter! I love it so I was really happy to see most of you did too...it still cracks me up picturing Jude saying that sex line loudly before turning on the lights...lol...

Anyway, here's the next part. The end of this chapter is some huge dream of mine that would never actually come true but hey, I figured it could happen to Jude instead of to me :-) It's really cool and what I wouldn't give to get a gift like this...

BTW, I'm heading out for a long weekend (happy july 4th! or at least for all of you Americans :) ) but should be back to post the next update on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm sort of drawing this out a bit because I don't want it to end...but there's still more to come before then, so stay tuned :) Have a good weekend and ENJOY!

* * *

"You could've said something," Jude whispered, as Tommy walked her down closer to the crowd. 

"And ruin the surprise?" he replied, smiling outwardly but avoiding anyone's eye contact.

She looked around in shock, walking down the steps. "So…there's no dinner?"

"Nope, no dinner," he replied, reaching the end of the staircase. She took a deep breath and put on her widest smile, immediately being enveloped by a group of people. Tommy watched her get pulled away into the crowd and stayed at his spot, smiling at the irony of the situation. His thoughts were interrupted as Kwest walked over to join him.

"So…you're trying to get her to have sex with you?" Kwest asked with a snicker.

"Just don't," Tommy replied, still showing a smile as attention in the room remained on Jude.

"You do realize that her parents are here, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware. I invited them," Tommy said, with an edge of bitterness.

"Okay. Just making sure you're prepared for questions," Kwest remarked, stepping off the staircase to join in the crowd around Jude. Tommy watched him go and kept his eyes on Jude, happy to see her glowing reaction. She was spinning around and hugging people all around her, thanking them for coming. He left his post to go towards the bar, grabbing a drink and staying away from the commotion.

A few minutes later, as he wassipping his drink slowly, he feels a pair of arms wrap around his chest from behind. He instantly turns to see Jude's smiling face.

"What was that for?" he asked, putting his drink down.

"For doing all of this. EJ just told me it was all your idea and that you two have been planning this for a few weeks," she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him.

He smiled and hugged her tightly. "I hope you don't mind. I know you said you didn't want a party, but I thought you deserved one."

"Thank you," she said, pulling back and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "It's perfect."

"And in case you weren't happy, we had Luigi's cater it just in case," he added with a grin.

She laughed lightly. "This explains a lot."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like…you being kind of distant lately or not wanting to see me last night…"

"Well, hanging those balloons over there took awhile," he replied, motioning to a stack of balloons hanging near the DJ booth.

"Well, thank you," she repeated, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "And I'm sorry…about what I said before I turned on the lights."

He laughed, "It's okay. People probably thought I was trying to get you to sleep with me anyway."

She smirked at his comment, then said, "My parents were freaking out the second I saw them. I told them it was all a joke, but I don't think they believed me—they'll probably question you too."

"Great," he replied with an eye roll. "Technically, it's my fault anyway. If I hadn't tried to stall for time back at your house, you wouldn't have said anything."

"That's what that was? Stalling?" she asked, her mouth agape.

"Sort of. EJ told me they needed a few more minutes, so I needed a way to distract you…but I swear, I enjoyed every minute of it."

"Very sneaky, Quincy…" she said with a grin, as a figure came up behind Jude and covered her eyes.

"Umm, Quincy, who is this and do they realize they're ruining my eye makeup?" Jude asked, her eyes sealed shut under the person's hands.

He smirked. "I can't tell you who it is, but I will say that she has enough blue eye makeup on to cover you both."

Sadie immediately uncovered Jude's eyes and hit Tommy on the arm.

"I am not wearing too much makeup, you jerk!" she shouted as Jude whipped around to see her sister.

"Sadie!" she yelped, jumping on Sadie with a hug.

"Happy birthday, Jude! You didn't think I'd miss this, did you?" Sadie exclaimed in return.

"How did you find out about it?" Jude asked.

"Your, umm, producer over here did a good job letting everyone know," Sadie explained, looking at Tommy. "By the way, Mr. Producer, you're trying to get my little sister to have sex with you?" Sadie asked Tommy, who just shrugged.

"What can I say? I thought she'd want a memorable birthday," he responded as Jude attempted to hold in her laughter.

Two hours later, the party was in full blast and everyone was having a great time. All of her friends and family had shown up: Jamie, Kat, SME, her mom and Steven, her dad and Yvette. All of G-Major was there too, along with a few music industry executives. She was truly impressed with all of Tommy's effort. And it turned out that no one forgot about her birthday after all.

As she was standing in a conversation with Jamie and Spied, she heard a tapping on the microphone from the stage. She looked up to see Georgia at the mic with Tommy standing behind her, both in front of a closed red curtain. She instantly got nervous at the sight, not knowing what to expect.

The crowd gathered near the front of the stage, Jude standing in the front row. Once everyone had assembled and quieted down, Georgia began speaking.

"As you all know, we're here to celebrate Jude Harrison's 18th birthday."

A round of applause was heard around the room as Jude blushed slightly from the attention.

"Here at G-Major," Georgia continued, "we're extremely proud to have Jude as a part of our family. She's one of the most talented, dedicated artists I know, and her passion for the music shows in every song she writes. She's worked very hard over the past few years, and has truly earned the recognition and awards that have come her way.

"Now, because she is turning 18 today, we wanted to give her a special, memorable gift. Something that showed her how much she means to us. So we asked her…producer to help us come up with a great idea, which he did. Tommy?" Georgia asked, turning the mic over to him. Jude immediately felt flushed as he stepped forward, unsure as to what was about to happen.

"Like Georgia said, Jude has been a huge part of all of our lives and I know personally, I wouldn't be the same person I am today without her."

Jude met his gaze and grinned warmly up at him, as he continued.

"So to show our appreciation, we've arranged a gift that could only be made possible for Jude. The gift isn't exactly tangible, it's not something she can take home at the end of the party, but it is something we hope that she'll remember for the rest of her life."

Jude looked confusedly around, bewildered at what this mystery gift could be. She turned towards Jamie who just shrugged, equally unaware of the gift.

Georgia started to retreat off the stage as the lights dimmed and a spotlight fell onto Tommy.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to sing," he joked into the mic as people chuckled in response. "But I am going to present you with your gift, Jude. This is for you, girl. Happy birthday from all of us here at G-Major…" he started, everyone hearing movement behind the curtain.

"Straight off their world tour," Tommy began, his voice a little louder, "double Grammy award winners, and Jude Harrison's favorite band…I'm proud to introduce…the one, the only…

"GREEN DAY!"

Jude's jaw dropped open as Tommy rushed off-stage and the curtains parted to reveal the whole band. The guitars immediately started to the familiar tune of " Holiday" and Billie Joe stepped out into the front of the stage.

"Happy birthday, Jude," he said, before starting to sing.

Jude stood in the front row in complete and total shock, her friends and family starting to scream all around her. Jamie was next to her jumping up and down in excitement while Kat started dancing frenetically to the side. Jude looked up at them with a huge plastered smile as Billie Joe's voice began echoing throughout the room. The moment she heard the first few words of the song, she started shrieking at the top of her lungs, as the reality of her gift started to settle in.


	39. Chapter 39

Hi--I'm still alive, I swear! I hope everyone had a nice July 4th! Besides the food and social stuff, I think the best part about the holiday is that this is a short week! I love that. But I realized that I hadn't posted since before the holiday--shame on me! Thanks to everybody who kept reviewing despite my lack of updates.

To be totally honest, I really like Green Day, but they're not my all time favorite band--that would be the Beatles. But for some reason, I just didn't think Tommy getting the Beatles to perform for Jude would be at all realistic (or possible).I'm glad everybody liked her gift from the studio--how cool wouldthat be? Anyway, here's the next part. I promise to try to post the next chapter faster than I did this one as I think you'll all want to see what happens at the end of this post..ENJOY!

* * *

After playing 5 songs in a row, Green Day took a break. Jude stopped jumping, her hair all over her face and her voice hoarse from screaming. Jamie looked at her and shouted, 

"Jude, this was the best birthday present ever!"

"I know!" she returned with a huge smile. "I can't believe they did this for me."

"I can—Tommy practically went crazy trying to think of the perfect gift. I knew he'd come up with something cool, but this is totally unbelievable," Jamie said breathlessly, as the lights came back on and the crowd began to disperse.

"I just can't believe…Green Day…came to my party!" she shouted in disbelief.

"I know! This officially tops any birthday party you're ever going to have, Jude," Jamie replied, before walking towards the bar to get something cold to drink.

A glowing and ecstatic Jude took off on a hunt to find the person responsible for her gift. She spotted him towards the back of the room standing around talking to Kwest, EJ, and Sadie. As she approached, the group all quieted down and looked at her smiling face enter their conversation.

"So let me guess…you liked your gift?" Kwest asked her with a laugh, as she nodded.

"Oh my god," Sadie said, watching her reaction, "she's speechless."

"That's a first," EJ added, as they all laughed.

"Hey!" Jude interrupted, feigning hurt. "It's my birthday so leave me alone."

"Sorry, Jude, the mockery comes 365 days a year," Sadie replied.

"Gee, thanks," Jude responded with a quick eye roll. "Well, as much as I hate to break up this stimulating conversation, I need to steal my producer for a minute."

"Steal him? For what?" EJ asked curiously.

Kwest grinned and turned towards Tommy, mumbling quietly, "It only takes you two a minute?"

Tommy turned towards Kwest. "Ha ha, very funny."

He excused himself from the circle and followed Jude down the hall and into Tommy's office, closing the door behind them. Once the door was shut, Jude immediately jumped into his arms, taking him by surprise.

"Whoa," he said willingly, as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. "So I take it this was a good gift idea?"

"Yes!" she cried, pulling him in closely. "I love it!"

"Good, that's what we were hoping," he replied, holding her tightly.

She pulled back and stared at him with a glazed expression. "How did you—when did you—how did you—"

"I know their manager," he answered with a grin. "We used to work together."

"And…you just…asked them to come here?" she questioned in disbelief.

"Pretty much. Georgia said they needed a good idea so I immediately thought of them. Luckily, they had the weekend off so it worked out."

"Wow," she said dreamily. "I can't believe you did that. I had no idea you were so…so…"

"Smart? Creative? Well-connected?" he offered.

She smiled and leaned in to gently kiss his lips. "All of the above," she answered softly. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome," he replied, kissing her lightly. "But don't think you're going to get the Rolling Stones next year."

Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "You know the Rolling Stones?"

He laughed and pulled her into a hug, "Maybe, maybe not…I can't give away _all_ of my secrets."

She hugged him tightly for another few moments before he quietly muttered, "We should probably get back out there, Birthday Girl. You don't want to miss their next set."

She pulled back and gave him another kiss before silently taking his hand and bringing him out the door of the office.

As they came back into the room, the party was in full swing and there were people dancing. They stood in the corner for a minute surveying the room until they met the eyes of their impending doom.

"Oh no," Jude quietly mumbled, automatically moving in closer to Tommy.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay," he said quietly, pulling her to his side.

They both timidly smiled as Georgia, Darius, and Liam walked towards them. As they approached, Jude felt her heart beat faster, losing sight of anything around them other than their advancing bosses.

"Happy birthday, Jude," Darius said, standing in front of her. He leaned in to quickly kiss her on the cheek. "Looks like we pulled out all the stops for this party."

"Thanks, it's a really great party," Jude replied nervously, knowing they weren't there to discuss the party.

"Jude, we know it's your birthday, but we need to talk. To both of you," Georgia said, her voice firm.

"Okay," Jude agreed quietly.

"Can it wait until tomorrow morning?" Tommy asked boldly.

"No, it can't," Liam declared.

"I've got a flight to Tokyo tomorrow morning," Darius said, "so it has to happen now."

Tommy sighed and reluctantly nodded. Darius walked towards the conference room, with the four following, Jude still clinging close to Tommy.

They all sat around the table in silence as Darius stood at the front of the room. Tommy held Jude's hand under the table, trying to keep her calm. He hated that the discussion had to be done on her birthday—if they were going to give them bad news about how they planned on dealing with their relationship, it would crush her. Forget Green Day—no band would make this better.

Once the door was closed, Darius began.

"Georgia has informed us of the situation with the two of you. I cannot say that I was shocked by the news—watching the two of you work together, you'd have to be oblivious to not suspect something. However, as you know, G-Major has a very strict policy against interoffice relationships. We feel that they decrease productivity and taint the quality of the work.

"Now I know you both have concerns about not working together. And the three of us have gone back and forth on this issue all week, so instead of telling you what we think, we want you to tell us why you think we should allow you to continue working together."

Tommy and Jude looked at each other nervously, then back to Darius.

"Well," Tommy started, "we feel that our priority has always been on the music and making it as good as possible. We rely a lot on each other to make that happen. If you separate us, the quality of the music will go down."

"We understand your concerns with a personal relationship having a negative impact on the work, but for us," Jude added, "it's the opposite. We push each other and do the best work when we're together."

"So you believe that you two are an exception to our rule?" Liam asked bluntly.

Tommy and Jude glanced at each other hesitantly.

Tommy answered quietly, "Yeah, I guess we do."

"And you believe that we should continue to leave you alone in that studio together for hours on end, not knowing what's actually going on?" Liam questioned.

"Yes, we do. If we're coming out with great music, then there should be no need to question what's going on in there," Tommy replied.

Jude looked at Liam's skeptical expression. She met his eyes across the table and asked, "Have we ever given you reason not to trust us?"

Liam sat in silence, mulling over her question as she continued. "We're honest and hard-working. We try to always be as professional as possible and it shouldn't matter what we do when we're on our own time."

"But, Miss Harrison, there is a very thin line here between your time and my time," Liam countered.

"True, but we don't use the time in the studio for anything other than music…that's what we love to do. It's the reason we're together in the first place. Everything that happens in that studio—good or bad—goes into the music. If we're separated, that inspiration is gone."

Everyone was silent upon her response, even Liam.

Very quietly, Jude added in a pleading voice, "We just want you to trust us and we feel like we deserve that."

Tommy reached for her hand, which was now on the table and laced his fingers in between hers. She looked at him and saw a small smile, one that held a mixture of warmth and pride. She smiled back, gripping his hand firmly as they awaited their decision.


	40. Chapter 40

Hi--here's the latest installment, it's the outcome of the studio's decision. I hope you all like it! I tried to create a good decision for all of you. Thanks again for all of the reviews--I love you guys! ENJOY!

* * *

"Now that we know where you two stand and why you feel you should continue working together, let me tell you what the three of us think," Darius replied, still standing at the front of the room and looking closely at Tommy and Jude's angst-ridden faces.

"On one hand," he continued, "perhaps you should keep working together. We know that the music you create comes from the combination of both of you. You play off each other's strengths and balance each other."

He started walking slowly around the perimeter of the room as he continued.

"However, on the other hand, this is our policy and no matter how great the music is, the rules exist for a reason. And while I do trust you both, leaving you together in that studio alone at night may cause reservations from people besides the three of us."

Darius stopped and looked at Jude, adding, "Like your parents for instance. I doubt that they would be happy knowing that we would even consider allowing the two of you to work together alone at night."

Jude nodded nervously, knowing he was right about her parents, as Darius cleared his throat and headed back towards the front of the room.

"Now, the three of us have gone back and forth on this issue all week and ultimately, we felt that a vote was the best way to settle this. So that's what we did."

"And?" Tommy asked, growing impatient.

"And we were split. Georgia voted to allow you to continue working together while Liam felt that we need to be firm on the policies in place. So it was left to me to be the deciding vote."

Silence settled over the room as Tommy held Jude's hand a little tighter. Both of their hearts were beating a mile a minute as they waited in anticipation for Darius to finish.

He leaned his hands down onto the table and stared at them both intently.

"I felt split on this issue. I understand the views of both of my colleagues, but my goal is to see this studio thrive. So the decision that has been made is what is best for this studio, not necessarily what is best for anyone in this room.

"Before I tell you what that decision is, I want to make it clear that no matter what your reaction is, you both are still employed here so it will be your responsibility to continue working to the best of your abilities. Understood?" Darius asked sternly.

They both nodded and Jude let out a small breath, hearing that they were both still employed.

"So here it is. Beginning tomorrow, we are setting up something new for the two of you. A new…arrangement," Darius said, pausing and looking at Jude and Tommy's distressed faces. A 'new arrangement' definitely referred to a change, which they both considered to be bad thing. "And what is this new arrangement? It's quite simple actually. Beginning tomorrow…" Darius continued slowly.

Jude bit her lip as Tommy began tapping his foot against the floor rapidly.

"…we are making an exception to the rules around here," Darius said with a grin. "The two of you will continue working together."

Jude's eyes widened and Tommy's jaw dropped.

"What?" Jude asked quietly in disbelief.

"You two will continue working together," Darius repeated as he and Georgia smiled widely.

"Seriously?" Tommy questioned.

"Yes, seriously. Under two conditions, of course."

Tommy and Jude both took a deep breath, afraid of the conditions.

Darius started again, "One is that you are professional whenever you are in the studio. The time you spend in there is for one thing—to make music, and if there is ever any reason to doubt what is going on with the two of you, the arrangement is done. Got it?"

"Got it," they both agreed, nodding.

"And the second—you need to tell Jude's parents. Georgia tells me you still haven't, and I refuse to be part of any kind of lie with the two of you. So you need to be honest with them about this situation."

"We were planning on telling them anyway," Jude said quickly.

"Soon?" Darius questioned.

"Yes, definitely," Jude agreed.

"We can tell them tonight," Tommy said. Jude looked at him skeptically to which Tommy shrugged and said quietly, "We have to tell them eventually. Let's just get it over with."

She closed her eyes for a second, taking a deep breath and then looked back at him. "Okay. We'll tell them tonight."

Darius smiled and replied, "Well then, you've both got yourself a deal. As long as you keep making great music, we want you to know that we do trust you and we believe that you've deserved our respect for your work."

"Thank you!" Jude said excitedly, standing up quickly and walking over to hug Darius. He hugged her as Tommy stood up too. Jude pulled away with a wide smile and then walked over to Georgia, giving her a huge hug too. Tommy shook Darius' hand vigorously, smiling the whole time.

"Thanks, D," he said appreciatively. "We won't let you down."

"You better not," Darius warned. "And don't go hurting our girl either."

"I won't," Tommy promised. He then walked over to Georgia and gave her a hug. Liam silently got up and left the room, not wanting to join in the festivities.

After the hugging and thank you's had finished, Georgia and Darius went back to the party and left Jude and Tommy to have a moment alone. They were both smiling ecstatically, unable to contain their excitement. Jude went to hug Tommy with a squeal and he lifted her up, holding her tightly. He set her back down and brought his lips to hers, kissing her eagerly. She held him close and readily pressed her lips to his, feeling a rush of energy from the decision.

They pulled away breathlessly and gazed at each other.

"I can't believe they agreed to it," Jude said quietly, smiling.

"I know. I'm shocked," he admitted. "Can you imagine the arguments that they all got into this week?"

"No, it must've been a bloodbath!" Jude exclaimed. "All over us…"

"I know…look at the stir we caused," Tommy said, still blown away.

She leaned into him and pulled him in closely, burying her head into his chest. "And it's over. Finally."

"Or at least one huge part of it," he clarified, thinking about how they needed to talk to her parents. "How do you think your parents will react?"

Jude thought for a moment and pulled back to look at him. "Neither one will be shocked, although my mom will act like she is. My dad might not be so happy at first, but he'll get over it."

"He has to," Tommy added.

"Right," Jude agreed. "They'll both be skeptical at first, but we can win them over. If we won over the studio, they'll be a piece of cake."

"I hope you're right," he said tentatively, pulling her in for another embrace. "Let's get back out there. This is your birthday party, remember?"

"Oh right…I actually forgot it for a few minutes there," she said with a laugh. He wrapped his arm around her and walked out of the conference room, both with huge smiles on their faces.


	41. Chapter 41

Hi--a couple of quick things for all of you wonderful readers out there.

First, I'm sad to say that there are only a couple more chapters to this story. I haven't written the ending yet, but it looks like it'll only be another 2 after this. I can't believe it's almost over, but you guys have truly been amazing throughout the whole thing. There isn't going to be a sequel, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm working on another fanfic that I'm completely obsessed with. I love every chapter of it so far, so I can't wait to start posting it. But I promised myself I wouldn't until I finish this one.

Second, I have a massively crazy week ahead of me and then I'm going away for a week on vacation (yay!). Not far away, but I may not have easy access to a computer, so my goal is to post the rest of the story by the end of the week, if possible. If not, I'll figure out whether or not I'll be able to post the remaining chapters while I'm away or if I'll have to wait until the following week. I'll definitely let you know as the week continues. Thank you for your patience in advance :-)

I guess that's about it. I'm glad you were all happy with the studio's reaction to Tommy and Jude's relationship. I aim to please! So here's our next part...ENJOY!

* * *

Tommy and Jude casually re-entered the party, unable to stop smiling. Making their way towards the bar, they were accosted by a frenetic Sadie. 

"Jude!" she cried, heading towards the bar. "Where have you been?"

"Around," Jude replied vaguely, her smile growing wider as she beamed at Tommy.

"Eww, thanks for the mental image," Sadie replied, looking between the two of them.

"Sadie, not everything is about sex!" Jude retorted, shaking her head. "We actually just got out of a meeting with Darius, Georgia, and Liam."

"A meeting? Now?" Sadie questioned in confusion.

"Yes," Tommy replied. "This was the meeting where we were told whether or not we would still be working together given our situation."

"Wait—you told them? About the two of you?" Sadie asked, her face in shock. Tommy and Jude nodded, watching her jaw drop. "Are you crazy?"

"Probably," Tommy replied with a smile. "But they're letting us work together anyway."

"Wow, congratulations," Sadie said, surprise still in her voice.

"Thanks," Jude said softly with a grin, leaning in closer to Tommy who hugged her warmly.

"You two are seriously grossing me out…" Sadie remarked, watching them. "Anyway Jude, I came to tell you that the DJ played a song I requested and you missed it."

"What song?" Jude asked.

"Bye Bye Bye by 'N Sync," Sadie replied. Jude immediately laughed, remembering the song's significance.

"I don't get it," Tommy said, watching them both laughing now.

Jude quieted down to answer. "Well, one afternoon when Sadie was bored, she forced me to learn all of the dance moves in the 'N Sync video for Bye Bye Bye. We literally watched that video a hundred times."

"Jude is _not_ a dancer," Sadie commented with a grin.

"So I've heard," Tommy replied, grabbing her hand. "I think I'm going to have to witness it for myself though."

"Wait—no," Jude resisted, being dragged onto the dance floor. "Tommy!"

"Nope, sorry, you have to dance on your birthday," he responded, pulling her into the middle of the floor. She turned bright red as everyone applauded for her, waiting for her to dance. She sighed, hearing the beats of "I Will Survive," and began dancing as best as she could.

Half an hour later, Tommy and Jude decided to take a break, sitting down at a vacant table. He went to get her a glass of water as Jude's mother approached the table.

"Having a good time, sweetie?" she asked, sitting down across from Jude.

"Mom! Hi," Jude replied awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm having a great time."

"Good. When Tommy said he wanted to throw you this party, I wasn't sure if you would be happy with it, but I guess he knows you pretty well," Victoria said.

"Yeah, he does," Jude replied distantly. "Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Victoria sat up straighter, looking at her daughter with concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, everything's great. It's just that there's something…I need to tell you," Jude started, seeing Tommy come back with the glass of water.

"One water, Miss Harrison," he said, placing it down on the table in front of her. He looked across from her and immediately stiffened at the sight of her mother. "Umm, hello, Mrs. Harrison."

"Hi, Tommy. Please, call me Victoria. Sit down and join us. Jude was just about to tell me something," Victoria said. "Unless you want to wait until later, Jude?"

Jude looked nervously at Tommy who slowly took a seat next to her. She looked back at her mom and said, "Actually mom, what I have to tell you involves Tommy too."

Before she could continue, another figure approached the table.

"There's my birthday girl," Mr. Harrison said, holding out his arms for a hug. Jude hesitantly stood to hug him.

"Hi, Dad," she said quietly.

"Did you get my gift? I know you don't really ski, but Yvette thought—"

"Stuart, you're interrupting," Victoria cut in sharply.

"No, Dad, why don't you take a seat too?" Jude said nervously, pulling up another chair. "What I have to say is for both of you actually."

"Okay, then what is it? Is it your album?" Victoria questioned.

"No, the album's going great," Jude said, fiddling with the edge of her dress in nervousness. "It's not about the album…or the studio actually…" She bit her lip and met Tommy's anxious gaze, knowing she needed to be the one to say it.

"I'm sort of…Tommy and I are sort of…ummm…."

"What is it, Jude?" Stuart questioned.

"Tommy and I are…sort of…ummm…." Jude started again, looking down and faintly adding, "dating."

Both Victoria and Stuart leaned in closer, faces scrunched up in confusion. Stuart quickly asked, "I'm sorry, you said that so quietly, I'm not sure if I heard correctly. You're…dating?"

Jude sighed and looked up at them. She felt Tommy grab her hand under the table and squeeze it tightly. "Yes, we're dating."

Tommy, not knowing what to say, remained silent, waiting for their reaction. Stuart exhaled deeply and leaned back in his chair, while Victoria just stared at them blankly.

"For how long?" she asked.

"Just a few weeks," Jude said quickly, looking at Tommy uneasily. He knew she had decided to lie to keep the reaction to a minimum. "We would've told you earlier, but we umm…well, we…we…"

"We wanted to make sure it was serious before letting anyone know," Tommy suddenly chimed in, filling in for Jude's floundering words.

Victoria nodded in understanding. "How serious is serious? I heard what you said before turning on the lights—"

"That was a joke, Mom," Jude defended.

Victoria relaxed in her chair, while Stuart sat forward and asked, "Does the studio know?"

"We just told them," Tommy replied.

"And they're letting you work together?" he questioned.

"Yes. They trust us," Jude answered.

He shook his head disapprovingly. "I don't know about this…have you thought about what this could do to your career, Jude?"

Jude's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean, Dad? Tommy has only done great things for my career so far."

"No, I mean," Stuart began, "you two will be in the papers. Paparazzi will follow you around, they'll pick you both apart—they always do. Don't you want people to know you for your music and not your love life?"

"Dad," Jude started, trying to stay calm, "my music wouldn't be what it is without Tommy. And I don't care what people think. It's my life, I'm making my own choices."

Tommy listened to her and watched her father's distressed reaction, feeling the need to interject. "Mr. Harrison, we thought about all of this. We know what people's reactions will be, but it doesn't matter. We just want to be together."

"And you think your social reputation isn't going to taint my daughter's image?" Stuart asked curtly.

"Stuart!" Victoria cried, outraged at his question.

"Vic, you know exactly what I mean! How can you sit here and act so calm when our daughter is running around with this party animal behind our backs?" Mr. Harrison suddenly stood up from the table, turning to walk away without another word. Jude looked at Tommy in a panic, feeling the situation suddenly spiraling downhill.


	42. Chapter 42

Hi--Okay, so the good news is that I'm on track by posting this chapter tonight. But the bad news is that I still haven't written the next chapter yet, so it might not make it out by Friday. It's either going to be the final chapter or the almost-final chapter, I haven't decided yet. But it may have to wait, I hope you don't mind! I just want to make the end of this story amazing for all of you, and my mediocre ideas just won't do!

So if I don't post on Friday, then I'll either update during my vacation next week, if I can access a computer, or the following weekend when I get back. I'll try my best to get it out as quickly as possible.

Anyway, thanks again for all of your reviews. I seriously cannot believe how many of you post feedback to this story--it makes me feel so happy, but it also makes me want to write the best material I can. So I'm doing my best for all of you! Here's the next chapter...ENJOY:-)

* * *

As her father stood up from the table and started to walk away, Jude looked at Tommy in a panic, which he took as his cue to intervene. He stood up too, rushing away towards her father. 

"Mr. Harrison," Tommy said, making him stop in his tracks. "I understand why you think Jude and I are a bad idea. I know in the past, I've been…social…but Jude's different. And I'm different when I'm with her."

"Tom, you're 25 years old, you've been married once before, and your face is plastered all over the tabloids," Stuart listed firmly, crossing his arms. "Can you understand why I'm not thrilled at the idea of you dating my youngest daughter?"

"I totally understand," Tommy said certainly. "If it were my daughter, I'd probably think the same thing. But I swear to you, all of those things you just listed out about me, they're all part of my past. That's not who I am now."

"Is that so?" Stuart questioned dubiously.

"Yes, it is," Tommy confirmed, looking directly at Stuart. "I'm not denying that I've made mistakes in my life, but Jude—she's the only thing I have that's right."

Stuart eyed Tommy carefully, still standing with his arms crossed. "So I'm just supposed to accept this?"

Tommy paused for a moment, then replied, "Well, we understand it's something…you might need time to get used to. So we're not asking for your acceptance just yet, but we are asking for you to give it a chance."

Stuart looked down, contemplating the situation.

"Just give us some time to show you that we're serious, that I would never treat your daughter badly," Tommy concluded, looking at him sincerely. "She means more to me than anyone."

Stuart sighed and took a moment to collect his thoughts in silence. A minute later, without another word, he went back to the table where Jude and Victoria were still sitting.

He interrupted their quiet conversation and said, "Jude, I can't say I'm happy about this. I have to question whether this is the best decision, but I understand that it is your choice. If this is definitely what you want, and it won't take away from your career, then I have no choice but to give it a chance."

"Really?" Jude asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes, really. I can't say I approve as of now, but I will try to be open-minded," Stuart confirmed.

Jude looked over at her mother questioningly.

"I'm actually with your father on this one," Victoria said. "I'm willing to give it a chance."

Jude stood up and met her dad in an embrace. "Thanks, Dad."

She then pulled her mom in too and hugged them both. "We won't let you down."

Pulling back from the hug, Stuart hesitantly shook Tommy's hand.

"Well, I need to go back and find Yvette," Stuart said, looking at them. "I'll speak to you later."

"Thanks, Dad," Jude said again, watching him leave.

Before leaving them alone, Victoria leaned in closely to Tommy and Jude to whisper, "Don't think I didn't know there was something going on with the two of you…"

Jude and Tommy both peered back at her in shock.

Victoria grinned and said quietly, "I walked by your hospital room when you were…getting re-acquainted."

Jude's jaw fell open as she stared at her mom in disbelief. "So, you knew?"

Victoria nodded with a faint grin. "Mothers know everything, Jude."

Tommy and Jude watched as Victoria walked away smiling.

"I can't believe she knew…" Jude started, looking up at Tommy.

"She definitely hid it pretty well," Tommy agreed.

Jude caught his eye and smiled widely, not needing to explain her happiness at their reaction. He smiled back at her and pulled her in for a hug.

Stepping away slightly, Jude asked him quietly, "What did you say to my dad?"

Tommy's gaze fell on Jude as he shrugged. "Nothing really. Just that I'm not who he thinks I am and he needs to give us a chance."

"Well, those must've been some convincing words…" she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Well, you know I can be convincing when I want to be," he replied softly, pulling her back in.

She smiled. "You know, if all this—the party, Green Day, persuading them to let us work together, talking to my parents—if it's all really just one big attempt to get me to sleep with you after all…"

"Yes?" he asked, prodding her to continue.

"I'd say it was pretty much a success," she said softly, gently kissing his cheek.

He laughed lightly, looking into her eyes. "That wasn't exactly the goal, but I'm happy to take it as a reward."

She smiled, stepping out of his embrace and looking past him for a moment at the crowd still on the dance floor. She bit her lip, appearing to be deep in thought.

He saw her expression turn reflective and eyed her questioningly. "What are you thinking?"

She looked up at him with a mischievous grin on her face. "I have an idea."

"Uh oh, why do I get the feeling it's not a good idea?" he asked.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "It's not bad, just a way to top off the night."

"What? Sleeping with me isn't enough?" he asked with a grin.

"Very funny," she retorted. "I'm serious, I think I know what would make this night perfect."

"Okay…I'm afraid to ask, but what is it?"

She gazed into his eyes and stepped forward, close to him. He skeptically looked into her eyes as she brought her arms around his neck. She leaned in, bringing her lips close to his, and whispered, "Kiss me."

He pulled his head back to look at her disbelievingly. "What?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "I know you understood that. I told you to kiss me."

"Why? Jude, we can't…that would be…"

"Wrong?" she finished. "It's not. If the studio knows, my parents know, then what's the harm in letting everyone else in on our secret?"

He looked around at the packed room. "But there are so many people here…the paparazzi is outside, music execs—"

"So?" she questioned. "Are you ashamed, Quincy?"

He sighed and looked affectionately at her. "You know that I am not in any way, shape, or form ashamed. But I am concerned about the reaction we'd get."

"Do you care?" she asked, looking into his eyes honestly.

He exhaled deeply and thought for a moment. "I guess I don't…I just want to make sure you're okay with the consequences of it. People will talk—"

"So let them," she responded, shifting in closer to him. He locked eyes with her and couldn't help but smile at her persistence.

"You're crazy, Harrison," he muttered.

She smiled and replied, "Well, it's been a crazy birthday. I'm just putting the icing on the cake."

He slowly brought his hand to her cheek, brushing it lightly. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded. "I'm sure."

He leaned down and held her cheeks in his hands, bringing her face closer to his. Closing her eyes, she felt his warm breath on her lips as she heard him quietly say, "Happy birthday, Jude."

Then, without hesitation, their lips met sending chills up her spine. She held onto him tightly, still feeling his hands on her cheeks. She pressed her lips against his eagerly, briefly forgetting their surroundings or the idea she had set into motion He too lost focus on anything else beyond her at that moment, feeling her open her mouth slightly and her tongue lightly touch his. He moved his hands behind her, pulling her in even closer and massaging her tongue with his own. They stood in front of the table, kissing passionately, while the hundreds of faces around them watched in shock.


	43. Chapter 43

Hello! Here it is--the FINAL chapter! It took me all week to come up with it, so thank you for your patience. I actually read through The Blackout one more time for inspiration when I got back from vacation, which is referenced in one part, soI hope you like the ending...thank you's to come after the story ends...so here you go. ENJOY :-)

* * *

With their lips locked in a passionate kiss, Tommy and Jude stood in the midst of a stunned crowd. They continued until they were both completely breathless, parting lips but keeping their heads together. The crowd gawked at them, most people frozen on the dance floor watching their every move. 

Finally feeling their minds come back, they slowly separated, their eyes still locked and grins on their faces.

All at once, from behind them, came a wave in unison of "awwwww." At the sound from the crowd, they both turned around to see all of the guests standing around watching them. They both instantly smiled wider, seeing the crowd's faces light up in happiness.

Suddenly, from the corner of the room, they heard EJ's voice rise above the others as she shouted, "Well, it's about freakin' time!"

Tommy and Jude laughed as a few people laughed along with them. Jude blushed nervously, turning towards Tommy to shield her reaction from the crowd. He pulled her in, holding her against him.

"So I guess it's official now…" he said quietly, just to Jude.

"There's no going back," she agreed, keeping her head buried in his chest but turning to look out at the room.

"This was your idea, you know," he reminded her. "So no complaining allowed."

"Okay, okay," she said, sighing and stepping out of his close embrace. She reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. "Ready to face them?"

He grinned back at her and brought her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly. "Let's go."

An hour later, the party was winding down and people were saying their goodbyes. Jude saw everyone on their way out, thanking them for coming. Each of her friends wished her well and congratulated her on her birthday and her relationship with Tommy. She had never been happier in her life. Everything had fallen neatly into place and though there were still a few details to work out, she genuinely felt at ease knowing that it would be alright eventually.

Before leaving, her mom stopped to tell Jude that she was heading home.

"I'm assuming you're not ready to go yet?" her mom asked.

Jude glanced over at Tommy, standing on the side of the room talking to Kwest. She looked back at her mom and shook her head. "Nope."

Victoria looked at Jude knowingly, then asked quietly, "Okay…so I'll see you tomorrow morning then?"

Jude looked at her mother in shock.

"Oh Jude, I'm not as old as you think I am. It's your birthday. Go have fun."

Jude's jaw dropped open at her mother's words. "Seriously?"

Victoria nodded, then added, "But be careful! You might technically be an adult now, but I refuse to be a grandmother anytime soon."

"Mom!" Jude exclaimed, blushing from her mom's remark.

"I'm just saying…"

"Mom, I know exactly what you're saying," Jude said, a little quieter. "But we're always careful."

"That's what I like to hear," Victoria said before kissing her daughter. "Good night, Jude."

"Good night, mom," Jude said, watching her mother walk through the doors to the parking lot.

Still flustered by her mom's reaction, Jude didn't hear Sadie approach. "You okay?"

Jude turned towards Sadie and asked, "Did you know Mom was so…so…."

"So not oblivious?" Sadie returned with a smile. "It's scary, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to think that," Jude said. "I wonder what else she knows about me."

Sadie laughed lightly. "She knows everything, Jude. I'd give up trying to hide anything."

"Great," Jude muttered defeatedly.

"Anyway, I think it's time for me to take off," Sadie said, leaning in to hug her sister. "I'm glad everything worked out for you, Jude."

Jude smiled confidently. "Thanks. Are you heading back to school?"

"Nope, I'm actually going to Josh's. He's working on that movie downtown and has the rest of the night off. So…."

"Go," Jude instructed. "Thanks for coming, Sades."

"You think I'd miss this?" Sadie asked, looking around. "Happy birthday, Jude."

"Thanks," Jude returned, hugging her sister one more time before she took off.

As she watched her sister leave, Kwest and Tommy approached her.

"Well, kids," Kwest began, standing between them and wrapping his arms around both of them, "it's been quite the evening."

"That it has," Jude agreed, walking with them towards the door.

"Did your mom leave, Jude?" Tommy asked, from Kwest's other side.

"Yeah, she took off a few minutes ago. But she made sure to give me a quick lecture on the value of protection before leaving," Jude added.

Kwest immediately broke out in hysterics. "And I missed that? Did she explain where babies come from too?"

"Fortunately, no," Jude said quickly, following Kwest out the door and into the cool night air. "But she did say she doesn't want to be a grandmother anytime soon."

"She did not," Tommy replied quietly, from beside her.

"Oh yes, she did," Jude confirmed, hearing Kwest snicker.

"That is too classic…so I'll see you both tomorrow?" Kwest asked.

"You got it," Tommy said.

"Happy birthday, Jude!" Kwest yelled, approaching his car. "And make sure to use protection!"

"Kwest!" they both yelled at him, as he laughed and got into his car, driving away.

They watched him leave the parking lot and looked at each other before getting into the Viper.

"Well, Mr. Quincy…"

"Yes, Miss Harrison…"

She hugged him lightly and asked, "Have I told you how much I loved my party?"

He held her in his arms and replied, "Maybe, but it doesn't hurt to hear it again."

She looked up at him, his blue eyes radiating into hers. "I loved it," she said quietly, leaning in to kiss him. "And I love you."

"Good," he replied, kissing her gently on the lips. "I loved the party too."

She pulled back and looked at him expectantly. "And?"

"And…I loved Green Day's performance…" he continued, smiling at her oncoming frustration.

"And?" she prodded.

"And the birthday cake," he added. "I love chocolate."

"That's it? You loved Green Day and the birthday cake?" she questioned, knowing he was kidding but still getting annoyed.

"Oh wait, there is something else," he said, looking into the air.

'What?" she asked excitedly.

"I love…watching you dance, Harrison," he said with a smirk.

"Hey!" she said, lightly hitting his arm.

He started imitating her awkward dance moves in the parking lot. "Oh now go, walk out the door…"

"Quincy!" she yelled, grinning sheepishly at his attempt to mock her, clumsily stumbling around. She couldn't help but laugh, approaching him to get him to stop.

He stopped dancing and looking at her giggling from his impersonation, her face lit up by the moonlight. He quickly silenced her by bringing his lips to hers. Taken by surprise, she instinctively wrapped her arms around him and felt her whole body weaken at the sensation of his soft lips.

Breaking away, he gently smoothed out her hair and looked into her eyes, saying softly, "I love you, Jude."

She smiled widely and gave him a quick kiss. "I love you too."

He reached for her hand, leading her over towards the Viper.

She turned thoughtful as they walked towards the car. "Quincy?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when we first got together? During the blizzard?"

"Of course," he replied.

"Do you remember saying that we needed to be a team? That these past five months wouldn't be easy but we needed to stick together?"

"I remember," he said with a grin, recalling that night in her bedroom at the end of the storm.

"Well, I remember not being scared about whatever was to come because I thought that we could handle anything. And we did."

"You're right," he agreed. "We made it through these five months with only minimal casualties."

"Exactly," she replied, pausing by the door to his car to turn to look at him. "It wasn't all easy, but we made it. And you know, we're still a great team."

He smiled lightly at her and leaned in to give her a gentle kiss. "We're the best team I know."

She beamed back at him warmly, holding his hands in hers. "Do you think for my next birthday we can really just go out for dinner?"

"But I thought you loved the party," he said, appearing disappointed.

"I did," she reassured him, "but all of this activity is exhausting."

"You are getting old," he commented with a smirk.

She playfully hit him, "Hey, Gramps, look who's talking…," she said, smiling. "I think I'd like a year off, that's all. Next year, let's just go out to dinner. Just the two of us."

"Next year, huh?" he questioned with a surprised grin. "Think we'll make it that long, Harrison?"

She smiled and leaned in close to him, her breath on his lips. "I know we will," she whispered, as he smiled affectionately. He quickly captured her lips, holding her close, showing his agreement with her prediction.

After a few moments, he opened the car door for her, before getting in himself. Pulling the car out of the G-Major parking lot, he reached over for her hand and held it tightly. She looked over at him and gazed into his eyes, meeting his content smile, before feeling the car turn onto the highway and drive off into the night.

* * *

_Thank you all so very very much! I started to create a list of those reviewers who have consistently posted comments on every chapter from the beginning, but honestly, there were too many of you! So you know who you are--I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of your feedback and constant support. _

_To everyone out there reading this, thank you. Whether you submitted reviews or not, just knowing that people were actually reading this story and The Blackout has been incredibly moving. You made me want to create the best stories possible and I hope that you're all happy with the results. Since I'm a little older, this fanfic world has become my creative outlet and I'm so happy to see how you've all embraced these stories and made them your own. _

_This fanfic is dedicated to all of you, frequent reviewers or not, who continue to inspire me._

_As mentioned previously, I have another fanfic coming out soon, so keep your eyes open for it. I think it'll be called "When Lightening Strikes." Very different from these two, but it'll be good, I promise._

_Thanks again to all of you out there--you all rock! And here's to waiting for another great season of IS next year!_


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